LUSAKA TOWN CLERK WARNS CARELESS WASTE DUMPERS
WE
shall not hesitate to pounce on unscrupulous people throwing waste carelessly, says Lusaka City Council (LCC) Town Clerk Alex Mwansa.
Mr Mwansa expressed sadness over the habit of some people throwing garbage in the newly constructed Bombay drainage. He said it was an offence under Chapter 100 of the Local Government Act Cap 281 and Statutory Instrument No.125 of 2001 on hazardous waste management regulations which also encompasses the Environmental Protection and Pollution Control Act No 12 of 1990.
Mr Mwansa however said the recruitment of council police officers would help to enhance the policing aspect of the sensitization exercise and also to apprehend members of the public who would be found abrogating the law. He urged residents to subscribe to the waste management unit and avoid littering and indiscriminate disposal of waste.
Mr Mwansa noted that if the situation remained unchecked, this might also pose a risk to infrastructure such as drains as most of the solid waste ended up in the drainages, leading to blockages which in turn reduced their efficiency and life span. “LCC has recruited more security officers and are expected to apprehend culprits who will be found dumping refuse and bring them to the Civic Centre for prosecution,” said Mr Mwansa. The Bombay drainage and Mazyopa drains were part of the US$355 million Lusaka Water Supply, Sanitation and Drainage (LWSSD) Project funded by the U.S. Government through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in partnership with the Government of the republic of Zambia.
The purpose of the drain was to help reduce annual flooding experienced in many parts of Lusaka.