BY ADRIAN MWANZA –

RESIDENTS of Kabwata high rise flats have expressed fear over the poor state of the structures which pose a danger to their lives.
Since the sale of the flats to the sitting tenants, they haven’t been rehabilitated or serviced leading to the evident spillage of water and cracking in the structures.
National Council for Construction (NCC) plans to send building experts to evaluate the extent of the problem.
NCC executive director Charles Mushota said experts would be sent once a formal complaint was sent but that he could not ascertain the type of cracking on the structures because they had not yet carried out any physical inspection.
Mr Mushota said cracks could be categorised in two types one being cosmetic cracks and the other one structural cracks.
Mr Mushota said structural cracks were serious as they undermined the stability of the structure posing a risk to the inhabitants of the flats.
Lusaka City Council (LCC) public relations manager Mulunda Habeenzu said the property needed to be maintained and renovated by the people who had bought them and not the council.
He said the council could only move in to renovate and maintain the flats if they belonged to the local authority and not private hands.
“I would like to appeal to the tenants of the flats to liaise with their landlords over the issue of renovating the high rise flats because LCC does not own them,” he said.
Jackson Mwale a resident attributed the cracking to leakages that cause flooding and soak the walls hence the cracks.
Mr Mwale said this problem has caused a number of buildings to have serious cracks on them because the water slowly penetrates and weakens the walls.

‘More hygiene, awareness needed to contain typhoid’

By SAM PHIRI
KANYAMA Township residents have called on Government to come up with more deliberate sensitisation campaigns on typhoid and hygiene if the disease is to be contained.
Other residents have, however, praised the Government for the swift response taken to arrest the further spread the deadly disease.
Maxwell Lungu, a teacher at a named school that was closed due to the outbreak of the disease in the area said the measure taken by the local authority to close the schools for fear of the disease spreading further was good but more needed to be done.
He said unlike the Ebola alert campaign on posters and television, residents had received less sensitisation on  typhoid as children were subjected to unhygienic practices even in their homes.
“The issue is knowledge of how this disease can be contracted and spread. We need more sensitisation because a lot of people don’t actually know how this disease can be acquired and how to prevent it,”
he said.
He said one of the solutions to curb this disease was by increasing the number of communal water kiosks in the area, which he said were insufficient.
Another resident Miriam Nalungwe, said there was no effective waste management in the area and people ended up disposing of waste indiscriminately, but the Lusaka City Council (LCC) has refuted .
LCC public relations manager Haabenzu Mulunda recently cautioned Kanyama residents against indiscriminate disposal of waste in the drainage system as that would block the system.

Lumumba refuse heaps worry traders

BY ADRIAN MWANZA
THE alarming garbage accumulation on Lumumba Road has caused fear of a disease outbreak among traders and other people who conduct their businesses there.
Some traders said the garbage dotted along spots of Lumumba Road was depressing and posed a great risk to traders and customers, especially during the rainy season.
Phanny Tembo said the road was littered with garbage and the council was not consistent in collecting the garbage.
Ms Tembo said the road had garbage all over, making it an eyesore as the litter kept on accumulating at a fast rate.
She called on the local authority through the waste management unit to ensure that garbage was collected from Lumumba Road because it was near a market.
“The council should ensure that garbage is collected from Lumumba Road before an outbreak of water borne diseases like typhoid and diarrhoea which could claim many lives, especially those selling at the market and along the road,” she said.
Another trader, Gwen Chilumba said traders were also to blame because they just threw litter anyhow with no regard for the surrounding environment.
Ms Chilumba said the situation was getting out of hand and if left unchecked could degenerate into a serious problem.
She said the blocked drainage contained contaminated water which produced a bad stench.
“The drainage pipes are blocked with papers, plastics and other forms of litter and they produce a very bad stench,” she said.
Ms Chilumba said if no action was taken, the area could start recording cases of diseases like Cholera, dysentery and even typhoid as was the case in Kanyama.

Chief Chitanda’s subjects ask for boreholes

By SARAH MWANZA –
CHIEF Chitanda’s subjects have appealed to the Government to sink bore holes in the area to end the water crisis experienced by the community.
The residents said they were travelling long distances and hours in search of water; a scenario which was negatively affecting the woman and children.
Christabel Chirwa said the existing bore holes were few and in far places, forcing women and young girls to travel long distances in search of the commodity.
She said the problem of water needed serious attention from Government to safeguard the lives of the children, especially girls.
“The women and children walk-up early in the morning in search of the commodity putting their lives at risk because some get rapt,” she said.
Bertha Kabwe, a Grade Seven pupil at one of the schools in the area said she usually missed school because she spent much time fetching water.
She said the residents were compelled to draw water which was contaminated.
“If some bore holes were sunk it would help young girls to concentrate more on their studies,” she said.
Central Province Minister Davies Chisopa said Government had in the recent Budget allocated some funds to sink bore holes  in Chibombo District.
“In the Budget that was recently approved, there is an allocation for sinking bore holes in the district and Chitanda’s chiefdom is one of the beneficiaries,” he said.

Central cops demand perks

BY SYLVIA MWEETWA  –
POLICE officers in some parts of Central Province have demanded to be given the  hardship allowance despite them covering several kilometres in line of duty.
The officers said it was unfair to continue denying officers who are also civil servants the hardship allowances considering that some areas were rural.
Those talked to on condition of anonymity from Kapiri Mposhi, Chisamba and Chibombo  said they did not understand the criteria used to give some officers hardship allowance, while others were not getting.
The officers appealed to the Ministry of Home  Affairs to investigate the matter and  correct the anomalies which slowly was dividing the officers, especially those who feel  they were not receiving what was due to them.
Ministry of Home Affairs spokesperson Moses Siwali said the matter would be investigated.

Chindwin gets post office

BY SYLVIA MWEETWA –
CENTRAL Province Permanent Secretary Edwidge Mutale has officially opened the first-ever post office at Chindwin Barracks in Kabwe which was constructed recently.
Ms Mutale said there was need for the public to change the mindset and consider soldiers as partners in national development and that their role in society could not be ignored.
Ms Mutale, who was speaking at Chindwin Barracks, said opening of the post office would cut down on the time spent on travelling and queues at the facility in town.
She said the opening of the first ever facility was a milestone towards service delivery and that the officers would be able to pay for motor vehicle licences, DStv, receive and send the money within the barracks at their own  convenient time.
Zampost area manager Chewe Puta said his firm was happy to partner with the men and women in uniforms by providing a service and was hopeful they would make use it.

Kabwe residents take Zesco to task

BY SYLVIA MWEETWA –
FAMILIES in Kabwe’s Mine area have demanded compensation from Zesco after their electrical items were damaged by high voltage following a black out.
The residents said they wanted Zesco to replace their electrical household items destroyed after a high voltage of power experienced in the area.
Zesco spokesperson Henry Kapata said the matter was under investigations but could not give further details.
Following the power blackout, some household property such as refrigerators, TV sets, DVDs, radios and other electrical items were damaged following a power blackout.