LUCY PHIRI writes
@SunZambian
LUSAKA Mayor Miles Sampa has urged councillors to quickly enact the onsite sanitation by-law to improve sanitation in the capital city.
Mr Sampa said bad onsite sanitation had been an underlying cause of most waterborne diseases in Lusaka.
He was speaking on Sunday when he officially opened the councillors’ onsite sanitation by-law familiarisation workshop at Ibis Gardens in Chisamba.
Mr Sampa said the sanitation status in Lusaka was still a challenge as majority of households used unapproved onsite sanitation and unlined pit latrines, while others do not even have toilets.
“Most houses are not built according to the public health and urban regional planning standards and that has created challenges for delivery of basic social services such as water and sanitation,” he said.
Mr Sampa said Lusaka City Council had the role of promoting a conducive and hygienic environment in all communities by ensuring that all households had the required sanitary facilities.
“This can be achieved through regulation of safe emptying and disposal of faecal sludge, raising awareness in communities on the importance of having approved sanitary facilities, promotion of appropriate solid waste management and disposal systems as well as development and enforcement of all relevant sanitation laws in communities,” he said.
He said the workshop was an important step in the formulation of the by-laws as it gave the councillors an opportunity to scrutinise the content of the draft document.
Legal services committee chairperson Longa Chiboboka called for collective responsibility in the formulation of the onsite sanitation by-law.
Councillor Chiboboka said it would be a milestone for the current crop of councillors to formulate important by-laws for the effective operation of the council.
He appealed to the council’s management to widely publicise the draft by-law when time comes for comments.
And speaking during the same workshop, Aldermen George Nyendwa and Patricia Nawa expressed gratitude he had been invited to take part in the workshop.
He said the workshop was an exciting moment as it was discussing a very important draft law.
He called for unity of purpose in the council if it had to deliver efficient services to residents.
