SWASCO disconnects water supply to Moomba police

SWASCO disconnects water supply to Moomba police
Written by Pride Bwalya in Monze and Frederick Mwansa in Itezhi-tezhi
Saturday, August 22, 2009 5:07:17 AM

SOUTHERN Water and Sewerage Company (SWASCO) has disconnected water supply to Moomba police station in Monze due to nonpayment of bills by the Ministry of Home Affairs amounting to K10 million.

And Zesco Limited in Itezhi-tezhi has defied home affairs minister Lameck Mangani's request on Monday for the utility company to restore power to police camps following his assurance that government will settle the bill soon.

The disconnection of water supply to Moomba police station came to light when Monze district commissioner Emmerson Machila toured the camp yesterday to familiarise himself with the situation which he described as critical and unhealthy.

Machila found that there was no running water in police cells putting about fifty detainees and convicts who were found at that time at a very high risk.

He said in an interview that 44 housing units accommodating police officers in the camp had also been affected by the disconnection.

Machila said SWASCO disconnected water supply to Moomba police station two weeks ago, forcing families of the police officers to be fetching water from Monze open air prison which is about four kilometres away from the camp.

He has since appealed to the Ministry of Home Affairs to intervene immediately before the outbreak of water-borne diseases both in police cells and the rest of the camp due to lack of running water.

Machila also called on SWASCO to consider reconnecting water supply to the camp on humanitarian grounds while the Ministry of Home Affairs seeks to settle the water bill to save lives from diseases.

And Machila noted that transport and accommodation was another major challenge faced by Zambia police service in Monze district.

Machila said senior officers at district level had completely no accommodation as they were sharing one house while some junior officers were accommodated in a junior police club.

He said there was need for the government to consider improving accommodation for the officers in Monze in order to motivate them to continue working hard.

Machila said the government must do everything possible to correct the situation at Moomba police camp before it got out of hand.

And a check at the police camp in Itezhi-tezhi yesterday revealed that the camp was still disconnected from power. This is despite Zesco and water utility companies in other parts of the country restoring supply to police camps after Mangani on Monday requested them to do so.

Mangani assured Zesco and water utility companies that the government would soon settle the outstanding debt.

The police officers wondered why ZESCO in Itezhi-tezhi could not restore power to their homes for close to a month now despite the minister's plea to them to restore power after an assurance that government would soon settle the huge electricity bill owed to the utility company.

“Our friends on the Copperbelt and Lusaka had their power and water restored after the minister requested them to do so but we are still wondering why Zesco in Itezhi-tezhi cannot do so here,” said one of the police officers.

When contacted for a comment, Zesco officials in Itezhi-tezhi referred all queries to their superior in Choma.

And police officers in Itezhi-tezhi have welcomed the government's decision to start paying police officers allowances for settling their electricity and water bills, saying the move was long overdue.

They said this would save them from the inconvenience of being disconnected from electricity and water supply.

“The government's move to pay us allowances for electricity and water is the best that they have done because now we will be able to settle our utility bills on time and avoid embarrassments associated with power and water disconnections,” said one police officer who sought anonymity.

Last Monday, the government announced that it would from next year directly pay police officers allowances for the settlement of their electricity and water bills to save them from being disconnected from water and electricity supply.

Mangani was reported as having said the move to pay utility allowances to police officers which would be introduced in the next budget was aimed at ensuring that police officers took responsibility of their bills instead of being inconvenienced over long-standing government debts.

He also said the Ministry of Home Affairs had entered into an agreement with the utility companies to re-connect water and power supply to the affected police camps with a view to settling the huge amounts owed by government.