By MILDRED KATONGO  –
WITH the rainy season all but set, the Lusaka City Council (LCC) is racing against time to clear the blocked drainage system in the Central Business district to avert flooding of roads and car parks.
LCC acting public relations manager George Sichimba said the programme commenced last month and that it was progressing well.
Mr Sichimba said the local authority was being held back in its efforts by members of the public in the habit of dumping waste in the same drainage system that had been worked on.
He said in a statement yesterday that the dumping of waste was particularly rampant at Kulima Tower Bus Station and Lumumba roads because of the heavy human traffic, mostly commuters and vendors.
“LCC commenced the de-silting programme to help reduce flooding during the rainy season. The programme started a month ago and it is progressing well. We are being taken back by members of the public who are dumping waste in drainages,” he said.
Mr Sichimba said rubbish discarded in the underground drainage system in the town center was largely responsible for the much of the flooding, for which the council was unfairly blamed.
He cited a situation that occurred after a recent downpour in Lusaka which triggered complaints of flooding even in places where the local authority had already de-silted.
Mr Sichimba said it was frustrating, time-consuming and a waste of colossal amount of money for the council to keep clearing the drainage system instead of channeling the resources to other needy areas.
He called for a positive change of attitude by members of the public towards public infrastructure such as the drainage system.