Grappling with Floods

Grappling with Floods
By Editor
Mon 05 Apr. 2010, 04:00 CAT

A lot of concern has been raised about the increase in unplanned settlements in our country over the years.

These sprawling settlements have in some cases sprung out of illegal land allocations by cadres from the opposition and ruling parties while in other cases, this land has been allocated to the people by the local authorities – the councils. Not so long ago, the local authority in Lusaka announced their intention to upgrade some of these compounds and provide them with proper water and sanitation services and drainage. They had an option of demolishing these illegal structures but they settled for upgrading the settlements.

We do not know how much of that upgrading has been done but the recent floods in Lusaka and other parts of the country should be a wake up call for those tasked to ensure that people live in habitable environments. Most compounds in Lusaka, the capital city of our country, have been hit by floods and people in the worst-affected areas have been moved into the grounds of Independence Stadium. There are well over 900 families currently residing in tents and their children have been integrated into schools near the stadium. Kabwe town has not been spared either as over 55 families as at last week, were accommodated in the Rotary Hall because their homes were either flooded or had collapsed due to heavy rains. For Lusaka, we are told that these families will have to leave the stadium by July 1, 2010. They will either have to construct other houses or return to their old homes.

We are aware that the situation has been exacerbated by quarrying in some areas in that the large craters that are created after the quarrying activities have also turned into dams, thus worsening the flooding in these areas that have no proper drainage. What is supposed to happen to those craters after the quarrying companies have exhausted all the natural resources?

This situation is very sad for our country, 45 years after independence. We know that people have been settling in unplanned areas, but one may wonder why they have been allowed to do that. Why has the local government allowed cadres and other unscrupulous people to continue allocating land illegally? What has been the role of the council in all this especially that they have a role to allocate land and plan the city? Why did they allow the situation to get to this extent?

These are some of the questions that require serious answers from the leaders in the government. It is very clear that those tasked with the duty of ensuring that the city is properly planned and has structures of good standards have not done so. It is clear that things are not well and a permanent solution is needed. And we agree with Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) general secretary Reverend Suzanne Matale’s observation that the worst is yet to come if the issue of floods is not tackled once and for all.

We need, as a country, to plan to prevent such disasters as opposed to planning for the disasters. The earlier we wake up and look for concrete solutions to this problem the better because it will always come with every rainy season. We need to be mindful of the fact that the urban poor will continue to be vulnerable to changes in the weather patterns as long as the problem of unplanned settlements is not addressed. The urban population has been rising over the years, partly because of urban migration. Our people in rural areas are moving to the cities in search of jobs and other opportunities. These people have had to build houses, some in illegal places, and this has increased the risk of floods because their buildings have restricted the movement of water. In the absence of a proper drainage in such unplanned areas, even moderate rains end up creating pools of stagnant water.

This increase in population should be matched with provision of good shelter and other necessary services. Our local authorities cannot conduct their business in the same manner they did 20 years ago. They need to scale up and ensure that proper services are available for the people. There is also need to ensure that illegal settlements do not mushroom anywhere. If people have to build houses, let that be done in legal areas so that the local authorities can deal with the existing illegal settlements.

Our people in these compounds live in hazardous conditions where water wells are just next to pit latrines in some cases. Heaps and heaps of garbage surround their houses, creating breeding grounds for germs that eventually cause disease in these densely populated areas. Local authorities, the government and the various stakeholders should confront this challenge of slums. People have a right to adequate housing and government leaders need to continuously find ways of improving their living conditions.

We are aware that governments in the world ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights because they recognized the importance of housing among other issues. The UN millennium summit was another platform at which global leaders set a specific target to realise that right, pledging to achieve a significant improvement in the lives of over 100 million people that live in slums by 2020. Given the seriousness of this problem of housing, civil society has continued to call for the inclusion of economic, social and cultural rights in the constitution to protect people. But there is simply no serious effort that has been made to normalise life in these unplanned settlements and the consequences will be worse than what we are experiencing if left unabated.

We sometimes wonder why those in the government expend their energies on petty issues when these are some of the issues that they can set out to address.

Instead of moving from one town to another officiating at functions, politicking and wasting taxpayers money, those in the government can direct their energies to such issues. No outsider will come and plan our city and provide social services to the people. The responsibility to provide those services and develop our country squarely lies on our shoulders and the sooner we realise that, the better. Rupiah Banda and his friends cannot relegate their responsibilities to other people and institutions. They need to sort out this problem. A lot of energy is spent on bickering, political self-preservation and fruitless schemes of silencing opponents as the majority of our people continue to wallow in poverty. There is so much concentration on amassing wealth, cutting deals and looking for opportunities for kickbacks instead of finding solutions to the country’s problems. This problem of floods requires a long-term solution from all political players and the blame game will not help anyone.

Our state of affairs is very shameful because even countries that have been struggling economically and politically for years, such as Zimbabwe, which is grappling with sanctions, have managed to maintain some level of sanity in their slums. We are not saying things are perfect in those countries, no. But there is some level of organisation even when it comes to maintaining roads in most residential areas as opposed to the potholes and ponds of water that people have to wade through as they walk or drive to their homes in almost all residential areas in our country’s cities.

We need to be ashamed and concerned that we can have environmental refugees in the capital city when the problem could have been avoided if those tasked to address these issues had done their work. You cannot have a country where ruling party cadres are given the licence to break the law, allocating land illegally as the council watches helplessly. You cannot have cadres turning into militias, displacing people and creating chaos and disorder. Something needs to be done to address this problem of illegal allocation of land, to stop this chaos. As the tide of climate change sweeps over the globe, those in government need to realise that chronic flooding and droughts are likely to be part and parcel of our lives. Rupiah and his friends need to wake up to reality and do their work effectively. We should not pride ourselves in taking donations to people camped at Independence Stadium when that problem could have been prevented or at least the impact lessened by providing better services such as drainages in these compounds. Leaders are elected to serve the people but if there is no service given to the governed, if all the services are left to be provided by foreign aid institutions and non-governmental organisations, what is the essence of having those leaders in the first place? What is the essence of spending taxpayers money on them when they cannot do anything meaningful for the people?

Leaders in the government should wake up to reality and find a permanent solution to the problem of illegal settlements because something has gone wrong in this country.