WE concur with the call by a consortium of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on the need for an impact assessment on the heavy rains experienced in the country in order to come up with a response action.
Among other things, the CSOs are of the view that the impact assessment would assist in coming up with the extent of the damage and losses experienced as a result of the heavy rains that the country has received so far.
We have no doubt that if this assessment is carried out the amount in losses will run into millions of Kwacha which is a very sad situation indeed.
The question that begs the answer is, why were measures not put in place to ensure that what is happening now does not happen?
In the case of Lusaka which seems to be the hardest hit, then Permanent Secretary  Charles Sipanje in November last year directed all district commissioners in the province to guard against the anticipated floods.
In fact the Meteorological Department had earlier last year announced that Lusaka Province was expected to record normal to above normal rainfall following a shift from the El Nino in the 2015 /2016 season to the La Nina in the 2016/2017 season.
We are of the view that local authorities in the province did not heed the directive from  Mr Sipanje hence the flooding that is being experienced in the capital city today.
Other than  the unplanned settlements in Lusaka, we have always pointed out that another cause of flooding is uncollected garbage which finds its way in the drainage system.
How does one explain volumes of water that collect in the Central Business District (CBD) when we are told that there is a massive drainage system that runs from Kafue roundabout to Kabwe round about.
One would expected the water that collects in the CBD area to quickly disappear  into the drainage system whenever it rains but this does not happen.
We hope the littering by-law that the Lusaka City Council (LCC) is planning to introduce will be implemented soon so that the indiscriminate disposal of garbage in the city can be addressed.
The implementation of  this by law should also be followed up with a vigorous sensitisation campaign against indiscriminate littering.
Elsewhere in the country where newly built roads have been washed away as a result of the floods, our view is that stringent measures should be put in place when contracts are being awarded so that contractors with reputable backgrounds are given the jobs.
This will ensure that we have durable infrastructure that can withstand the most harsh weather elements.