By THANDIWE MOYO
FOLLOWING ritual killings in Lusaka which have claimed six lives, taxi drivers in the city and those in Chipata of Eastern Province, have devised security measures to avoid being victims of the barbaric acts.
One of the measures taxi drivers have come up with is to knock off early, around 20:00 hours, especially those that park their vehicles at fee-paying car parks and retrieve their cars slightly after 07:00 hours when most people are awake and heading to work.
Some taxi drivers have resorted to shunning customers they do not know for fear of being booked by ritual killers.
The other security measure some taxi drivers have come up with is to operate with a co-driver so that they would defend each other in the event of an attack.
Despite such measures which have also reduced their daily income, taxi drivers feel the security measures are for their own safety.
On the other hand, most residents are shunning taxis opting to use public buses because of the fear that taxis were being hired by suspected ritual killers.
A Lusaka taxi driver, Patrick Njobvu, said the the  ritual killings had made him more security conscious especially that last year, two unknown men who had booked him in broad daylight to take them  to Makeni, brandished a gun and threatened to shoot him for refusing to drive them to a different destination.
A check at a taxi rank in Chunga Township in Lusaka late in the afternoon revealed that none of the taxis were hired and some taxi drivers said the situation had been like that for the past three days.
Teddy Katongo, one of the taxi drivers, said his taxi had not been hired for the past three days as most of his customers would rather use public buses because some members of the public observed that ritual killers used taxi drivers to carry out their operations.
Mr Katongo said business had been negatively affected and wondered how he would fend for his family at the rate at which customers were shunning his taxi.
He was angered by the gruesome murders, adding  that people behind the killings should be brought to book.
Another taxi driver, Mwila Nsofu, found in Matero Township, said he was shaken by the gruesome murders and was living in fear like some of his colleagues and was hopeful that law enforcement agencies would bring the barbaric killings to a halt.
Mr Nsofu, however, accused the police patrolling the area at night of allegedly harassing taxi drivers who wanted to operate beyond 19:00 hours even though their vehicles were registered.
“We feel very bad that the country is experiencing these gruesome murders, however, if the police stop us from operating especially at night, how will we feed our families? Most of us are operating in fear of being murdered, but still we need to work,” he said.
And a taxi driver in Chipata, John Daka, said although the province had not yet experienced ritual killings, he had been cautious with who booked him and has adjusted his operating hours as he did not want to take the peaceful environment for granted.

Ndeke in water blues

By ARETHA NKHOMA
A CRITICAL water shortage has hit Kitwe’s Ndeke Township following a leakage that occurred on one of the main pipes which supplies the area.
Residents told the Sunday Times that the persistent water shortage would cause an outbreak of diarrhoeal diseases.
“Cholera is most likely going to break out with such a shortage of water,’’ Benson Sakala, a resident said.
A visit to the area found residents struggling to fetch water, especially women with babies on their backs.
Another resident Jane Katongo, said she and other women woke up as early as 04:00 hours to go to  Mulenga Township  to fetch water from  shallow wells which she said, was risky for the people.
“We haven’t had water for the past week and the situation is very bad. You know in this area there are no bushes where people can go and relieve themselves,” Ms Katongo said.
Nkana Water and Sewerage Company public relations officer Agness Sewing appealed to the residents to remain calm as the water firm was working on the leaking pipe.
“It will take a few days for the water to reach most homes. My appeal is that residents should exercise patience with us,” she said.

Chunga dumpsite worries residents

By CHIPEMA SAKAIMBO
GARBAGE at Chunga dumpsite in Lusaka is becoming a nuisance to motorists and mourners at Chingwere Cemetery as it is spilling over to the burial site and road.
The state of affairs is worrying Chunga residents who are appealing to the Lusaka City Council (LCC) to arrest the situation before diseases like cholera break out.
A resident, Mwila Mukuka, who lives near the dumpsite, said with the outbreak of cholera in the city, the council should move in and address the problem.
Ms Mukuka said it was disheartening that some people were dumping garbage on the road with impunity and wondered why the LCC had not taken action.
She appealed to the council to clean up the grave site and the road as well as put up strategies to hinder people from dumping garbage in undesignated places.
“The council should come up with measures that will stop this kind of behaviour because our lives are at risk if any disease outbreak occurs. We are appealing to the council to quickly move in and resolve this problem.” said Ms Mukuka.
LCC public relations manager, Habeenzu Mulunda said he was not aware that such a thing was happening as the dumpsite was kept tidy most of the times he visited the area.
Mr Mulunda, however, said the culprits should desist from dumping garbage outside the site as it was illegal.
“The people who dump garbage outside the dumpsite should stop because the council will do everything to ensure that they are caught and punished,” Mr Mulunda said.
He has since appealed to the general public to report any person found wanting to the LCC police.

New postcode, addressing  system launched in Ndola

By   DARLINGTON CHISENI and THELMA KALONGA
THE Ndola City Council (NCC) in collaboration with Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) is in the process of implementing a  project aimed at developing a comprehensive addressing and postcode system.
The project which started in September last year is being implemented on a pilot basis under phase one in areas such as Kansenshi, Northrise, Itawa and Lubuto.
NCC public relations officer Louise Thole said previously, it had not been easy to locate residential houses and properties especially those which were situated in between houses.
Ms Thole said houses which had numbers were properties of the local authority and no individual had the right to temper with them.
“Where a property has no boundary wall, the numbers will be placed on the wall of the house as long as they are visible from the road,” she said.
Meanwhile, some residents in Northrise area where the project had kicked-off have had the newly installed house numbers and postcodes vandalised.
The move has disturbed local authorities who have described it as retrogressive and warned those involved that the law would catch up with them.
Meanwhile, Northrise residents have expressed happiness over the numbering of houses and properties in the area.
Gilbert Kasanda thanked the local authority for the services that would enable service providers such as the Fire Brigade, water utility firms and Zesco to have easier access to houses and other properties.
Ms Thole has since appealed to Ndola residents to desist from jeopardising implementation of the new house numbers and postcode system by tempering or removing them without permission from the local authority.
“I would like to urge all residents in areas where the project is being carried out to avoid vandalism,” she said.

Traders complain about harrasment from cadres

By CHIPEMA SAKAIMBO
TRADERS at Lusaka’s Soweto Market have complained over continued harassment by some suspected Patriotic Front (PF) cadres.
They said the cadres had continued interfering with the day-to-day running of the market despite several complaints to the Lusaka City Council (LCC).
The traders said the situation had worsened and were now appealing to the relevant authorities to come on board and protect them from being exploited by cadres at the market.
Margaret Muchimba told the Sunday Times that the cadres were charging traders who were squatting on their friends’ stands K100 every day, which was not even receipted.
Another trader, Amos Mbewe complained that cadres had engaged ‘youths’ who offloaded people’s goods from trucks by force.
He said when confronted about the money they were collecting, the cadres threatened and harassed the traders.
But Lusaka Province PF youth Chairperson Kennedy Kamba said the aggrieved should report the matter to either the police or directly to his office.
Mr Kamba said it was illegal for cadres to do the work of the council and urged the the perpetrators of the vice to desist from such activities.

High mealie-meal prices baffle Bauleni inhabitants

By THANDIWE MOYO
BAULENI Township residents in Lusaka have called on Government to intervene in the high mealie-meal prices despite the area having two solar-milling plants that were launched recently.
The residents are currently buying a 25 Kilogramme (kg) bag of breakfast meal-meal at K95, while a 12 kg bag is being sold at K55.
In an interview with the Sunday Times, the residents wondered why mealie-meal prices were so high in Bauleni Township despite Government through the Zambia Cooperative Federation (ZCF) putting up measures to reduce prices of the commodity by introducing solar milling plants.
Residents expected a 25kg bag of breakfast meal-meal to be fetching at not more than K65 following the introduction of solar-milling plants.
A resident Samuel Phiri, said mealie-meal was too expensive and that he thought prices might reduce after the introduction of solar milling plants but was saddened by the exorbitant prices.
“We were told that mealie-meal will be selling at K65 but to our surprise even after the area was given two solar milling plants, prices have continued to escalate,” he said.
Another resident, Martha Mwanaleza, said it was disheartening that the milling plant that was supposed to be used by residents in the community did not benefit the residents and thus challenged relevant authorities to correct the situation.
Chola Nsefwa thanked the Government for introducing solar milling plants, but urged the State to ensure that the facilities served the intended purpose.
In a separate interview, Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe said the milling plants had generated a number of mealie-meal bags but that they were yet to be put on sale.
She said that the people in charge would commerce trade early next month.
Ms Mwanakatwe urged the Bauleni Township community to be patient and to also report any cases of corruption related to the milling plants once they were operational.