By BRIAN HATYOKA –

LIVINGSTONE City Council has launched a fortnightly ‘Clean Friday Campaign’ to promote cleanliness in the Tourist capital.
The exercise is aimed at sensitising members of the public on the importance of preventing indiscriminate disposal of waste and to serve as part of the social responsibility by the Council to the public.
Livingstone City Council public relations manager Emmanuel Sikanyika said the local authority had launched the exercise which would be conducted fortnightly in various parts of the town.
Mr Sikanyika said the exercise, which was also part of commemorative activities for the September 27, 2015 World Tourism Day, would involve the removal of litter in various parts of Livingstone while loaders and trucks would continue collecting garbage in the city.
He was speaking in an interview on Friday after Livingstone City Council acting Mayor Fred Sikazwe flagged off the cleaning exercise on the Lusaka-Livingstone Road near the Weighbridge.
“Our involvement in cleaning every Friday after two weeks is to encourage residents and other stakeholders to heed to correct ways of disposing waste as opposed to indiscriminate disposal which is usually the order of the day.
“The cleaning exercise will involve management and councilors from the local authority so that we set a good example,” he said.
Mr Sikanyika also commended the organisers of this year’s World Tourism Day national celebrations in Livingstone for including a component of cleaning Zambia’s Tourist capital as part of commemorating this year’s event.
He said the council was determined to keep Livingstone clean so as to promote tourism and other economic activities.
“We have a collective commitment to prudently use our internal resources for the purpose of cleaning the city and make it habitable.
“In this regard, we have an ambitious team of workers under the Solid Waste Unit whose duties include sand scooping from roads, clearing waterways and refuse removal,” he said.
He also commended the private sector in Livingstone for partnering with the local authority to promote a clean and green environment in the city.