Mon, 16 Jan 2017 10:15:51 +0000
By KALOBWE BWALYA
SOME unscrupulous people have continued scavenging the Chunga dump site, picking expired foodstuffs such as meat, chicken and sausage which they sell to unsuspecting Lusaka residents after cleaning them in the polluted Chingwere stream.
Some youths and elderly women have continued scavenging at the dump site, picking expired and rotten foodstuffs, among other items, with a view to reselling them after cleaning them.
The foodstuffs that are dumped at Chunga dump site commonly known as “Marambo”, are those condemned by Lusaka City Council under public health regulations as being unfit for human consumption.
But some Lusaka residents have opted to sell the condemned foods at drinking places and markets especially in the evening.
Penjani Zimba of Chaisa compound said the area had now turned into a den of illegal activities such as sale of drugs just like Chibolya and Msisi compounds.
Mr Zimba said the health of the people wre at risk because scavengers were selling expired meat in the community straight from Chunga dump site which was in a deplorable condition and urged the local authority to urgently address the matter.
He however cautioned people who like buying meat or chicken pieces from the street to be conscious of what they consume.
He said there was possibility of the desperate street vendors selling even dog meat, claiming it was goat meat or pork.
Jackson Chibelushi of the same area said women were mostly the victims because they loved buying meat from the streets.
“Women love good life, wanting to eat meat daily; they should be conscious with what they buy from the streets,’’ said Mr Chibelushi.
He noted that drinkers were often victims of dumped meat, commonly known as “michopo”, which were being sold at drinking places and bus stops.
Mr Chibelushi said he personally visited the site to see how it was being managed and found some people scavenging the dump site for merchandise, posing danger to their health and that of the public.
He said the poor management of the Chunga dump site would lead to serious outbreaks of disease like cholera and dysentery which would be a huge cost to Government.
Mr Chibelushi urged the Lusaka City Council to intensify security at the site to ensure that no-one scavenged for anything which they later sold to unsuspecting members of the public.
Lusaka town clerk Alex Mwansa said the council was an institution which promoted public sanity and that anything that endangered public health was of concern to it.
He said the local authority will not sit idle and watch people breaking the law and warned scavengers to stop selling expired food and appealed to the general public to report such cases to the police.
