By ANDREW PHIRI –

THE Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) will soon repair the Mulala Bridge which collapsed in January this year, Livingstone District Commissioner Omar Munsanje has said.
More than 700 households were cut off from the rest of the Livingstone City when Mulala Bridge collapsed due to heavy rains.
Speaking in Livingstone, Mr Munsanje said he had been assured that the DMMU repair the bridge before the rains intensify.
It was unfortunate that the re-construction of the Mulala Bridge had delayed but assured the residents that Government was committed to ensuring that the infrastructure was worked on.
“Our request to the DMMU is that all damaged bridges should be worked on before on set of rains, and we are now confident the bridges will be worked on,” Mr Munsanje said.
Mulala village residents have complained of the delay by Government to reconstruct the Mulala Bridge.
Area development Chairperson Nawa Mufekisa said the bridge was the only link between the village and other areas which had social amenities.
Mr Mufekisa said the area had no Schools, clinics and markets and that they depended on other areas like Linda, Maramba and Libuyu to access these facilities.
It would be very difficult without a bridge once the rains intensified, he added.
“What we are crying for is for this bridge to be worked on before the rains intensify.
We have no schools, clinics and proper markets in this area, so if this bridge is not worked on it will mean that our children will stop going to school and we also going to have problems when we get sick,” Mr Mufekisa said.
Mulala Bridge, just like the Linda- Sakubita, was a major bridge in the tourist capital which linked many townships and villages to the City Centre.
Mr Munsanje said the Linda-Sakubita Bridge was another facility that the DMMU would work on before the rains intensified in the district.