By MAYA NTANDA –

DISPLACED families in Kitwe, whose houses were demolished in Kitwe’s Mindolo North, have commended Government for providing them with tents.
A combined team of KCC and State police demolished more than 600 houses in Mindolo North which were illegally built on land belonging to Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) and Phoenix materials in May this year.
However, the Disaster Management and Mitigating Unit (DMMU) under the Vice-President’s office offered humanitarian aid to the affected families by putting up tents at Helen Kaunda Secondary School grounds.
Speaking on behalf of the squatters, Paulina Kapatiso commended Government for erecting tents for them.
Ms Kapatiso said each family had been given a tent and that more than 287 families had since relocated to the transit camp at Helen Kaunda School grounds.
“We would like to thank Government for coming to our aid by providing us with tents, this is better than the way we were left in Mindolo North, where we were  spending nights in the cold,” she said.
Ms Kapatiso, however, appealed to the DMMU to provide more tents for the other 30 families that moved from Mindolo North on Tuesday and were not yet allocated tents.
She further appealed to relevant authorities to find alternative land for them where they could construct houses permanently.
Another resident James Katanga said the squatters were faced with numerous challenges such as transport for school going children and inadequate lavatory facilities.
“We have challenges of transport with school going children, this place is far from Mindolo where most of them go to school and the lavatories are not conducive for children,” he said.
Others complained of a Red Cross official who attempted to prevent them from expressing their concerns to the Press so that relevant authorities could come to their aid.