Sat, 27 May 2017 11:02:15 +0000
I DO not approve the idea of sinking boreholes in Luapula Province because the region has plenty of natural water bodies, Minister of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection Lloyd Kaziya has said.
And Mr. Kaziya has instantly dismissed a Luapula Water and Sewerage Company manager for Nchelenge for supplying raw water to the people of Nchelenge.
Meanwhile, Luapula Province Minister Nickson Chilangwa said the issue of water was not given full attention before President Edgar Lungu created the Ministry of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection.
Giving a comment on his tour of Luapula to commission completed water projects in Samfya, Mansa, Mwense, Nchelenge and Kawambwa, Mr. Kaziya said he did not believe a Province that boasted of lakes and rivers could be drinking water from the boreholes.
The Minister said Government was not considering sinking boreholes as a priority for Luapula when water could be sourced from the rivers and lakes.
“I don’t think sinking boreholes in Luapula is right when we have lakes and so many rivers from which we can tap in to supply our people with clean piped water.
“Yes, boreholes are a short term solution but not for Luapula. Boreholes give a lot of problems and are expensive to maintain,” Mr. Kaziya said.
Mr. Kaziya said his Ministry would allocate enough money from the $49 million expected to be sourced from the African Development Bank (ADB) for water reticulation expansion projects.
He said it was Government’s desire that many households in Luapula Province and the country as a whole be supplied with clean drinking water.
And Mr. Kaziya was shocked that LWASCO had not paid attention to the treatment of water supplied to Nchelenge residents.
He said the levels of negligence by the water utility company was a major cause of cholera in Nchelenge which was why he decided to relieve the manager of his duties.
Meanwhile, Mr. Chilangwa said Mr. Kaziya’s visit to Luapula was timely in that the Province had embarked on a massive overhaul of water reticulation systems in all the districts since 2011.
Mr. Chilangwa said President Lungu’s creation of the Ministry of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection had now given full attention to water which never used to be the case in the past.
“The President of the Republic of Zambia, His Excellency Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu created this Ministry to give enough attention to water because the department of water under the Ministry of Local Government had failed to handle the challenges that come with a commodity as important as water,” said Mr. Chilangwa.
Mr. Chilangwa thanked Mr. Kaziya for considering Luapula Province as his Ministry was undertaking more water projects in the country.
