By KASONDE KASONDE
and HELEN TEMBO –
LUSAKA Mayor George Ngendwa has banned all public gatherings in the city as more measures are being put in place to stop the increase in the number of cholera cases currently standing at 94.
Mr Ngendwa directed all council officers to ensure that no public gatherings were allowed as per directive.
He identified parties and funerals as gatherings that could contribute to the spread of the disease as a lot of people shared food at such functions, which posed a health risk.
“In a bid to control cholera, which has broken out in the district I have banned all public meetings like funerals and parties, which are usually a source of worry and breeding ground for diseases such as cholera,” Mr Ngendwa said.
The mayor announced the new measures during a full council meeting in Lusaka yesterday.
Mr Ngendwa also stressed the need for the council to ensure that the public paid for solid waste management to avoid uncollected garbage piling up in various townships.
More than 500 cases of chlorine have been supplied to cholera-hit areas such as Kanyama, while 10,000 had been sent to Chazanga, Matero and Lusaka Central.
And  Kabwata Member of Parliament Given Lubinda said it was important for the council to redesign the solid waste management programme, to make it more effective in the face of the cholera outbreak.
Mr Lubinda said all the places, where people conducted various businesses as well as dwelling places should be levied for solid waste management to be efficient and effective.