STATE KEEN TO TACKLE WASTE DISPOSAL

Mon, 28 Aug 2017 13:19:41 +0000

Kalobwe Bwalya

GOVERNMENT is embracing innovative solutions aimed at addressing the current indiscriminate disposal of wastes across the country, Vice-President Inonge Wina has said.

Ms Wina said the Manja Pamodzi project which is being implemented by Zambian Breweries, has created employment and helped reduce the disease burden by keeping the environment clean in the areas where it was operating.

Speaking during the second Manja Pamodzi anniversary celebration in Lusaka on Friday, Ms Wina in her speech read by minister in the office of the Vice President Sylvia Chalikosa, Ms Wina pledged Government’s support to progressive projects that were complementing it’s efforts and uplifting the standards of living for the people.

Ms Wina expressed happiness that the project had helped minimise the amount of littering in the communities through its environmental health education, and this had also helped reduce the drainage blockages. She said the project should expand to other parts of the country and urged more stakeholders to partner with the project.

She said, the project has not only made the communities better to live in, but it has created opportunities for the collectors and processors, which has also partnered with some schools in Lusaka and it was educating pupils on the waste management and how to keep the environment clean.

Ms Wina said Government, is happy to note that through the Manja Pamodzi project, Zambian Breweries is helping to create jobs for people in line with the government’s efforts to create more employment opportunities for people and allow them to uplift their standard of living.

 “The project is in line with the government’s Keep Zambia Clean campaign. We as a government are happy with projects that are aimed at complementing our efforts. I am glad to hear that the project has about 400 collectors in the nine areas it is operating. This is good and commendable especially that almost 80 percent of these are women and they have started small businesses,” Ms Wina said.

Meanwhile, outgoing Zambian Breweries country director Annabelle Degroot said the project had recorded considerable success and had collected over 2,500 tonnes of recyclable waste.

Ms Degroot said the project was working with partners, among them the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Zambia, which has put in US$842,000 and urged Government to consider a ban on plastic bags as some of the neighbouring countries have done.

Millennium Challenge Account Zambia acting deputy chief executive officer Pelekelo Chipango said the Manja Pamodzi project fitted well with MCA’s agenda of improving sanitation in communities and also reducing drainage blockages.

“As you may be aware in the past years much money was being used in unblocking the drainage systems because people were just dumping their garbage in the drains. Now people know where to take the garbage and that the drainages are not bins,” he said.

And Minister of Water Development Sanitation and Environmental Protection Lloyd Kaziya commended people for adopting a better way of disposing garbage.

 He urged people to adopt the keep Zambian Clean starting from their own homes because that is the starting point of making the nation clean.

Currently the project is in Mtendere, Chawama, Kalikiliki, Kalale, Matero, Chunga, Ng’ombe Chibolya and George compound, and has a total 399 collectors and eight aggregators.