Wed, 07 Jun 2017 11:52:39 +0000
By Sandra Machima
AIRTEL Zambia has as part of its corporate social responsibility handed over 50 litter bins and 100 brooms valued at K45, 000 to help with the Keep Zambia Clean campaign.
AIRTEL marketing director Sekou Barry said his company was aware that waste management had continued to be a challenge in the country, hence the need for collective involvement of organisations coming on board and working closely with the Government.
“We believe that supporting the Keep Zambia Clean campaign will help to prevent a number of epidemics a well as contribute to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals in Zambia,” he said.
Mr Barry said Airtel was aware that a clean environment was a prerequisite for a smart and healthy nation.
“We are the leading mobile service provider and are always looking for ways to add value to the communities in which we operate through four focus areas which are health, education, youth empowerment and environment.
The donation may not be so much the cost attached, but rather the number of people’s lives that will be impacted through this donation by Airtel,” he said.
And Lusaka Province minister Japhen Mwakalombe said Airtel had been a partner in development and had helped to supplement Government’s efforts in various sectors like education and health which were aimed at improving the lives of the less privileged in communities.
Mr Mwakalombe said the Keep Lusaka Clean campaign seeks to sensitize the public on how to manage waste and keep their surroundings clean.
He said garbage still remained a big issue in the country, hence the need to engage people in communities and private sector partners such as Airtel to help support this campaign.
“We are grateful to Airtel for the donation that will be used towards the Keep Lusaka Clean monthly clean-up activities to prevent a lot of diseases as well as keep our environments clean and healthy,” he said.
Mr Mwakalombe explained that the ministry was working closely with the Lusaka City Council and the Street Vendors Empowerment Foundation and that the initiative was yielding positive results in the change of mind-set on garbage and participating in clean-up activities on some streets of Lusaka.
He said there was need for more co-operating partners like Airtel to come on board to help keep the city clean for this campaign to be a success.
