SI on waste coming-Minister

Sun, 21 Jan 2018 11:33:16 +0000

By CHIKUMBI KATEBE

THE Ministry of Local Government is next week expected to issue a Statutory Instrument on solid waste management with plans to creating a company solely mandated to handle issues of garbage.

Local Government Minister Vincent Mwale announced yesterday that the SI should put in place guidelines in the handling of all waste to curb the trend of indiscriminate waste disposal by individuals, households and business entities.

Mr Mwale was speaking during the Good Morning Zambia segment of the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation television programme.

He explained that there should be directives over indiscriminate urinating and public spitting among other regulations surrounding hygiene and waste disposal. Mr Mwale said this was in line with the massive cleaning campaign Government embarked on in response to the outbreak of cholera that has so far claimed over 70 people owing to careless waste disposal in the capital city, Lusaka.

Mr Mwale said the government has put in place stringent measures to ensure sanity was maintained especially in the central business district to avoid future disease outbreaks especially cholera.  He said Government has resolved to keep street vending outside the central business district, adding that the local authorities were tirelessly working to find decent trading places for all those who were removed from the streets with secure sanitary conditions.