You Should Also Give a Hand!

The rubbish piles along the main roads of Lusaka is a clear sign that people tend to forget that they have a role to play in building up local democracy and that development should not only come from the institutions.

By Olivia Phiri

The responsibility for sustainable development lies in the people of any country. Long has the mind sets of people relied on institutions to take care of the simplest duties. Any improvement in the people’s quality of life has to begin and be maintained “at home”.

The idea of dependence has lead to deteriorating surroundings and structures. One example to pick on is the recently constructed drainage along Great East Road running from Mulungushi Conference Center to the Arcades Round-about. Currently the drainage system is filled up with silt, plastic bags and paper packs.

One passer-by spoken to refuted the claim that people are to blame for the situation. Kelvin Mulenga of Kalundu says it’s the Governments responsibility together with the Environmental Council of Zambia.

Lack of concern

However Mulenga was uncertain as he went on further to explain the situation. He started debating on the issue of who generates the garbage, whom he identified to be the people, but still insisted that it was the responsibility of Government.

“Its Governments fault to a certain extent, but okay its us the people who throw dirt in the drain, but I think it’s the governments job to make sure its cleared up,’ said Mulenga.

Mulenga’s conflict of thought can be seen on the faces of the other passer-by’s lack of concern and interest towards the steady filling up drainage.

The mission statement of the Lusaka City Council, LCC is to provide high quality services and enabling environment, with stakeholder participation, in order to improve the quality of life for all those who live, work, visit or conduct business in Lusaka.

But it is very apparent that our council is currently doing the best it can bearing in mind the financial situation it faces, not forgetting the political interference and corruption from very limited revenue collection points.

The council established the waste Management Unit to look into the issue of garbage through the funding of DANIDA in 2001. The WMU thereafter put out tenders for carrying out this work due to lack of equipment. Lusaka was divided into 12 zones, and the particular area in question is under Clean Fast Limited.

The Council’s Engineering Department is further obligated to hire contractors to maintain the road networks of Lusaka, of which includes drainages as well. This department has hired Take Pride Limited to maintain, the same area.

The question of governance steps in, the replication of duties leads to confusion and unaccomplished objectives. Liaison between the two departments should be strengthened. Monitoring of contractors should be consistent.

Other stakeholders

The Waste Management Unit or the Engineering Department of the council cannot however be held completely responsible for the situation. Other stakeholders are the people and shop owners.

Habitual tendencies of throwing plastic bags and any kind of indecomposable litter should be the issue to be addressed by the council to the people of Lusaka.

The council should carry out massive in expensive advocacy programs that will remind the people of their responsibility towards a cleaner environment. With the Rain season on the way, every person should be concerned about the result of congested drainages.

Campaigns are needed

The council would have to make sure the campaigns are cross cutting, in that they have to appeal to different members or classes of society, from the ordinary citizen to the top business people.

The Council through the WMU facilitates awareness workshops in compounds around Lusaka. Areas where such workshops have been held are, Garden, George, Lilanda, Chaisa and Mandevu compounds.

A source from the Unit spoken to said, compounds have been given green containers and community groups have been formed after workshops to sensitize other residents on how to manage waste disposal.

Participation is key

The audience the council has focused on is not such huge consumers, and rarely goes to shopping malls, like Arcades, so the Council should be broader based in their sensitization campaigns.

Participation by both men and women is a key cornerstone of good governance. Therefore the council would have to ensure that their advocacy programmes attract both sexes in order to ensure sustainable development.

Good governance by the people should be the motto of every citizen; poor governance generates a social environment detrimental to development. People need to overcome poverty and share in their country’s development.

Responsibility

The WMU is in progress of installing concrete bins around the city, to avoid vandalism and theft, the process has already been started along Cairo Road. However, this initiative won’t work if there is no sensitization of the people.

Industries and shops should be penalized in future for contributing to environmental pollution. Each productive industry or shop should ensure it has adequate bins for its customers or adequate dumping facility for their products.

In conclusion, people need to be considerate of their environment and should seek ways of sustaining whatever development is happening around them.