THERE is need to find a lasting solution to the perennial outbreak of waterborne diseases which seem to be affecting Kanyama Township in Lusaka.
It is unacceptable to continue spending huge sums of money on preventable diseases such as cholera.
This is because the Lusaka City Council has not properly effected the plan to transform Kanyama, after it was upgraded from an illegal settlement.
We can foresee the situation continuing as long as the area is not serviced, especially with residents continuing to dig shallow wells which are next to pit latrines.
Authorities were last time forced to close schools after typhoid hit the area mainly due to poor sanitary facilities.
We all remember how in 2010 when Zambia experienced heavy rains which subsequently led to serious flooding, leading to an outbreak which affected about 2,500, and sadly 41 died.
Among the worst affected areas were the same Kanyama, Chipata, Kamwala and Chawama, and the outbreak was as a result of people drinking contaminated water from shallow wells, which the Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company (LWSC) is warning Lusaka residents against.
Residents should heed the water utility’s appeal to desist from using water from shallow wells and other unsafe sources in the wake of the cholera outbreak in Kanyama.
This call is timely considering that the National Water Supply and Sanitation Council in October last year revealed that 80 per cent of the water in Lusaka’s Chalala residential area was contaminated.
It is also gratifying to learn that the company has equally suspended the sale of water at its communal taps in Kanyama, John Laing and Chibolya townships to allow more people in the areas to access safe and clean drinking water free of charge during this period.
Much as we also appreciate that LWSC has increased its chlorine dosage for the water that is supplied by water trusts in peri-urban areas, there is need to find a permanent solution to this predicament.
Yes, residents should desist from drinking contaminated water, but that is a short-term measure. What we need are long-term and sustainable solutions like what happened in George Township.
The council needs to be proactive as well as the LWSC, but we all know the water utility company cannot move in before the area is planned properly.
That is why the council should immediately look for resources and move in to protect lives and prevent the unnecessary costs the ministry of Health is incurring.
That money could be used to address other areas that need to be improved or serviced.
It is unacceptable to continue spending money on the same problem for years. Where are the planners?
George Township is another area that had this problem before water kiosks were installed and today cholera is not an annual problem like is the case in Kanyama.
So as LWSC conducts its awareness programmes among the residents, it will be important to make them aware that boreholes and septic tanks should not be built closer to avoid contaminating the underground water.