Council appeals for calm over roads
THE Livingstone City Council has appealed for calm among residents as efforts are underway to repair roads and bridges damaged by the rain.
The Mayor, Mr Eugene Mapuwo, pleaded with residents and indicated that the council was working around the clock to ensure washed away roads were patched as a temporary measure.
On Tuesday, residents in Dambwa North complained that roads had been washed away due to heavy rain and called on the local authority to immediately repair the stretches.
Mr Mapuwo asked residents to be patient with the local authority while a plan was being worked out.
He was speaking after he and Freedom Ward councillor, Owen Muteba, toured the damaged roads in Dambwa North.
“What I would like to say to the community is that they must be patient. We will start patching the roads and I think you would agree with me that we did massive works from 2017 to-date but we had adverse effects because of the heavy rain.
“But that does not mean we will not patch the roads. We will make sure we get on top of things and that should not worry the community,” Mr Mapuwo said.
He said that the major problem for areas such as Dambwa North and Highlands was that there was no drainage system.
Mr Mapuwo said that constructing drainages was a capital project that required enough resources.
“I must state here that we have about 12 kilometres of drainage that has to be done across the city. We have identified areas where we need to put up major drainages and it will cost about K 4 million,” Mr Mapuwo said.
The mayor disclosed that the council had already submitted a Bill of Quantity and designs to the Road Development Agency for possible funding.
And Mr Muteba assured the residents in the area that all the damaged roads would be worked on, but pointed out that it was difficult to carry out any significant work during the rainy season.
“We are waiting for the rainy season to end, that is when we will move in and do permanent works. As it can be seen, two weeks ago, we were here (Dambwa North) patching up the roads but because of the rain, all the gravel has been washed away,” he explained.