By ROGERS KALERO
COUNCILLORS should not only share plots, but must ensure that their cities and towns are properly planned to avoid encroaching on water installations, Water Development and Sanitation Minister, Mike Mposha had said.
Mr Mposha said poorly planned cities and towns where buildings have been constructed on water installations have made it difficult for water utility companies to carry out maintenance or expansion works on encroached water installations.
The Minister was responding to concerns by Nkana Water Supply and Sanitation Company (NWSSC) Managing Director Diana Makwaba about encroachment on water installations during a presentation she made at National Pensions Scheme Authority (NAPSA) complex in Kitwe.
Mr Mposha said poor planning of cities and towns has resulted in churches being constructed next to a night club or bar, while in some cases, roads have been closed.
”With poor planning, you find that a church has been constructed next to a night club or a bar. The church is doing overnight prayers with tongues, while the next building, there are playing all sorts of music which is different from the church. This is a problem with poor planning.
“So Councillors should ensure that they plan their cities and towns properly. Being a Councillor is not about sharing plots, but it is about good works which include ensuring that cities are properly planned to avoid encroaching on water installations,” Mr Mposha said.
And Mr Mposha has said the motion to cancel water bills in townships that have not been receiving water but have been receiving water bills was shot down because he did not understand how consumers can be receiving water bills when they have not been receiving water without seeking the audience of the water utility company.
The motion by Kamfinsa MP Christopher Kang’ombe urging government to cancel water bills in townships that have not been receiving water was shot down on 8th December 2021 on the floor of the house by MPs from the ruling UPND, who accused the mover of the motion of bringing a Brought In Dead (BID) motion which lacked merit.
Mr Mposha said if the consumers have been receiving water bills without receiving water, they should not have waited for many years before bringing the matter to the attention of the water utility company and the Member of Parliament (MP).
He said, if the precedent of cancelling water bills was entertained, water utility companies will find it difficult to operate because water supply business was very expensive.
“We should not entertain the cancelling of bills because water utility companies need money for their operations. If we entertain the cancelling of bills, we will find that water utility companies fail to operate effectively ,” he said.
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