By REBECCA MUSHOTA –

Vice-President Inonge Wina has bemoaned Zambia’s lack of adequate capacity to mitigate and address disasters on the country’s water bodies.
Ms Wina said there was need to place emphasis on disaster preparedness to mitigate disaster on rivers and lakes because the country had challenges with safety and disaster mitigation on its lakes and rivers.
She was speaking in Lusaka yesterday when Sinohydro Zambia, a Chinese-owned company, donated 200 life-jackets worth about K140,000 to Gwembe District Disaster Management Mitigation Unit (DMMU) offices.
About 25 people, most of them pupils, died on Independence Day last year after a boat capsized on Lake Kariba in Gwembe.
“The incident on Lake Kariba highlighted the current challenge that Zambia is facing with respect to safety of water transport,” Ms Wina said.
She said it was unfortunate that annually, Zambia recorded accidents on water bodies relating to vessels capsizing and loss of lives due to those accidents.
Natural disasters, Ms Wina said, were unavoidable but that relevant institutions should place emphasis on stopping accidents and disaster preparedness.
The Government has put up measures including laws to prevent accidents on rivers but the challenge also lay with all strategic alliances to adhere to rules and support Government efforts.
She directed the district disaster management mitigation units to scale up efforts to improve safety on water bodies.
Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Yang Youming said there was need for Zambia and China to raise awareness, improve plans and equip disaster management units.
He also said he was happy to see Chinese companies more actively engaged in fulfilling corporate social responsibility in Zambia.
Chinese companies have donated electrical equipment to help prevent Ebola, sponsored Zambian students to study in China as well as participated in various charitable activities.
Mr Yang said President Edgar Lungu recently held talks with Chinese president Xi Jinping where they agreed on many issues and with that background, the Ambassador was hopeful that the two countries would work together in disaster prevention.