Residents reject K40 garbage collection fee

Tue, 18 Apr 2017 06:21:44 +0000

BY CHINTU MALAMBO

RESIDENTS of Lusaka’s Garden compound have bemoaned the high garbage collection fees, saying many people will not be able to afford them.

One of the residents Chileshe Mumbi said that the K40 fees that was supposed to be paid was too much and she could not manage to pay it.

Ms Mumbi said that it would have been better if proper consideration was made to ensure that the amount reduced for everyone to manage to pay it.

“The K40 that they charge for garbage collection is too much and I personally cannot manage to raise that kind of money for the bin, it is way too much. The authority should consider people like me who are having a challenge to raise that kind of money,” she said.

She said that she was aware that living in a place filled with garbage was a health hazard but the high fees left them with no choice but to adjust to such a dangerous situation.

Another concerned resident Mark Wamunyima pleaded with the local authority to consider reducing it to K20, stating that no one was going to have challenges to raise that kind of money and contribute to the maintenance of their surroundings.

Mr Wamunyima said that it was important to check the income levels of a particular locality before coming up with an amount to charge because that way  the authorities would know exactly what was suitable.

He said that such high fees were what forced residents to sneak out in the night and dump garbage anywhere for fear of being made to pay so much.

“The way they are charging, people are forced to sneak out in the dark when no one is looking; they opt to through garbage by the road side simply because they are trying to avoid paying so much as they cannot afford it,” he said.

He called on relevant authorities to consider the cries of vulnerable communities when deciding matters of sanitation because people wanted to live in a clean environment but were constrained by the high cost.