I carry out the worst job, says Masebo
By Mwala Kalaluka
Thursday July 05, 2007 [04:00]
LOCAL government and housing minister Sylvia Masebo has said she is one minister who carries out the worst job. And Masebo said the death of Lusaka Province police commanding officer Wasakaza Ng’uni would have a devastating effect on the implementation of the Make Zambia Clean and Healthy Campaign in Lusaka.
Featuring on a Face the Media programme on Radio Phoenix yesterday, Masebo said certain decisions aimed at instilling a sense of cleanliness in Zambians sometimes hurt some families.
“I am one minister who does the worst job. I do things that hurt so many families but people have to understand that it is for their good,” Masebo said.
Explaining the concept paper on the Make Zambia Clean and Healthy Campaign, Masebo said there was need for people to make cleanliness a personal issue.
“Most of the young people for example think that it is normal to throw litter around because nobody teaches them that it is wrong,” she said.
Masebo also said the campaign could not be complete without improving the provision of water and sanitation services.
“The issue of water and sanitation is cardinal because without water you cannot be clean,” she said. “We are calling on the private sector in their own way to ensure that they have sufficient water for their staff in the workplaces.”
Masebo however said more investment was still required in the water sector to upgrade the supply of water and sanitation services around the country.
“We have for example come up with the National Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Programmee (NRWSSP) for the next five years, which will help us meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),” she said. “But we still have a long way to go.”
She further encouraged the private sector to take advantage of the campaign to generate employment through the creation of innovative companies that would recycle garbage waste.
And announcing her decision to demolish the illegal market around the Independence Stadium in Mandevu, Masebo said she was devastated by Ng’uni’s death.
“That is why Wasakaza’s death makes me very sad. The market at Independence Stadium is illegal and I took note that the market must be closed,” she said. “I drove around the city and I took note that in fact one of the first things I had to do today was to brief Wasakaza and the town clerk so that starting from today they should move and remove some of these markets along the roads.”
Ng’uni died in a road traffic accident on Tuesday.
Labels: KEEP ZAMBIA CLEAN, LUSAKA, SYLVIA MASEBO, WASAKAZA NG'UNI
Read more...
Keep Zambia clean
By Editor
Friday June 22, 2007 [04:00]
Zambia has become very dirty and something needs to be done urgently to correct the situation. The initiatives that are being undertaken by the government at all levels, and especially by the Ministry of Local Government and Housing, deserve the support of all our people.
Filthy surroundings do not only pose a danger to the environment, they are also a health hazard to the residents. We know of many diseases that arise from dirt. Cleaning our environment will go a long way in reducing the occurrence of such diseases as cholera. Cleaning our surroundings can save many lives and even help reduce the pressure on our health services.
We cannot continue to have towns and cities where it has become normal for rats and cockroaches to move freely and be accepted as members, or part of our lives.
But whatever efforts we make in trying to clean public places, if these are not extended to our homes, very little will be achieved. Cleanliness should start at home or else it will just be another case of chipale chapamusebo. And we know that this is unsustainable because it has no roots – the roots of cleanliness should be in the homes, in the family. People who come from clean homes are more likely to keep public places clean.
With the entrenched culture of dirtiness, of filth and of littering, keeping Zambia clean will not be an easy undertaking. It will require a lot of effort to change this attitude which has become our way of life. A lot of work will need to be done to educate every household about the need for cleanliness.
Schools and other institutions of learning will also become vital agents in this campaign to keep our country clean. Keeping Zambia clean should actually become a subject taught in our schools – from nursery, primary through to high schools.
The Church also has an important role to play. Our Christian mission demands that we give ourselves the task of restoring the beauty and harmony of God’s creation. Environment is the living space we share with other humans, animals and plants, trees and rocks, rivers and lakes. We know that the environment is sacred space, because our God is present in every part of it, giving life and beauty and comfort. The integrity of creation must be respected in all human activities or we have no future. We must respect God’s creation by being concerned about ecological problems around us. God’s creation is a precious gift to all, both us alive today and future generations.
Christians should never forget that God placed people in the world to develop it as co-creators with Himself. Therefore, the cleanliness and the protection of the environment must be serious concerns for our wellbeing. Christians should see our country as a gift from God and must develop it for the good and welfare of all our people. Unfortunately, we have not taken the best care of our surroundings, of our environment on which we depend for survival. The environment must be preserved at all costs. We must show respect for the integrity of creation by keeping Zambia clean.
But while we welcome the initiatives that are being undertaken by our political and civic leaders, it is important for us to point out that very little, if not nothing, will be achieved in our endeavours to keep Zambia clean if our people are not consulted and involved in whatever we do. If our initiatives start to appear to be impositions or punitive measures on them, they are bound to face resistance. We don’t think the views of our people were widely sought on the ‘Keep Zambia clean’ campaign. This is a very good campaign but it needs the all-out mobilisation of our people; it needs the full support of all our people.
Even the legislation that we are being told has been revised and tightened was not done with the consultation of our people. However, it is not too late for the government to get moving on these issues; we have no time to lose. Public support is necessary because it will make enforcement of litter disposal and other legislation easier. Education is also easier when people have been prepared to receive it.
Our ‘Keep Zambia clean’ campaign needs to be simplified with clear priorities and targets so that the most important changes are made first or the most important issues are tackled first. There is need for us to set targets for achieving performance in all aspects of keeping Zambia clean.
There is also an urgent need to address the high cost of keeping Zambia clean. We know that cleanliness comes with a cost, but let’s keep this to manageable levels or the whole campaign will soon collapse because of lack of funds. There is need to empower communities to keep their surroundings clean at a very low cost, or at no cost at all. A ‘keep Zambia clean’ campaign that is totally based on huge amounts of money being made available by the government or the councils is bound to fail because this type of money will not be found, it is not there. So, to keep our country clean let us devise a strategy that is based on what we have – people – and not what we don’t have – money
Labels: EDITORIAL, KEEP ZAMBIA CLEAN, MWANAWASA
Read more...
Mwanawasa to launch 'Keep Zambia Clean' campaign
By Masuzyo Chakwe
Friday June 22, 2007 [04:00]
PRESIDENT Levy Mwanawasa is today expected to launch the Keep Zambia Clean campaign. Local government and housing minister Sylvia Masebo said during a press briefing yesterday that the launch at 19:00 hours would trigger various activities intended to improve the environment.
Masebo highlighted activities that include cleaning of Soweto Market on Saturday which will be spearheaded by first lady Maureen Mwanawasa and marketeers.
Masebo said the Minister of Communication and Transport Sara Sayifwanda would be working with bus drivers and conductors to clean buses.
“The Mayor of Lusaka is expected to clean and unblock drainages in Mandevu compound. The Inspector General of police will be ready to enforce law in the week. The provincial minister for the Copperbelt will launch activities in Kitwe. The Hoteliers chairperson Mr Gaudenzio Rossi will be cleaning a hotel,” she said.
Masebo said health minister Dr Brian Chituwo was expected to clean a ward at the University Teaching Hospital and the education minister would clean a school in Chawama.
Masebo said the Minister of Home Affairs would clean one of the prisons. She said commerce minister Felix Mutati would on June, 28 launch the painting of shops in Kamwala and the town centre and hoped shop owners in the affected areas would begin painting their shops.
Masebo said one of the Catholic parishes had been identified and would clean their surroundings. She said the chairperson of the House of Chiefs was expected in Southern Province to do a clean up campaign in one of the villages and he was also expected to commission a water supply project.
Masebo further said the press needed to play a very important role in the exercise.
“I note that The Post newspapers is organising (for next Thursday) a news forum where the Bank of Zambia governor will feature and talk about the Keep Zambia Clean campaign as a corporate responsibility,” she said.
Masebo said the Minister of Tourism would also be launching a tree-planting exercise in Chilenje South and the community was encouraged in the tree-planting exercise. She said some time next week, she would be launching the new regulatory laws on nuisance and public health Act.
Masebo said she intended to increase penalties so that they became more meaningful.
“The current law in terms of fine is very minimum. People break the law knowing the fine is very little. For noise, honking, playing loud music, the current fee is K1, 000 or K2, 000 and I want to increase the fee to K100, 000 to K1 million. For parking in wrong areas, off loading on the road, we will be fining from K100, 000 to K1 million. For street vending, the fine is K500.00, we want to increase it to K100, 000. Other things like urinating in public, we want to increase the fine from K1, 000 to K50, 000 and K100, 000,” she said.
She said other offences like keeping sheep and goats in the backyard would also be dealt with.
Masebo said all vehicles involved in accidents and had been parked at police stations would be removed because they made the surroundings untidy.
“The police will be very busy. The IG is expected to remove all the vehicles from police stations and deal with illegal car dealers. The public needs to be sensitised on what the law entails. There will also be inspections of schools, restaurants and other food outlets. Regulations need to be followed in full,” she said.
Masebo said K200 million had been allocated in the budget for the exercise and the money had since been released.
“We want Lusaka to go back to the garden city it was known for. We hope the Church will help preach messages of hygiene and people should not throw litter out of the car windows,” she said.
Masebo also directed local authorities to write to owners of unfinished buildings and give them a period within which to complete construction or repossess them.
On the dismissals of council workers at Ndola City Council, Masebo said government would not allow a situation where workers locked their superiors out of their offices.
“We won’t condone such behaviour from council employees and what the mayor has done is in line with the conditions of service and we will support him on the action the council has taken. It is important as a country not to support anarchy as much as they may have good reasons for their strike action, but where they lock offices can’t be allowed. I hear ZCTU wants to come and see me and I hope not to support anarchy,” said Masebo.
Labels: KEEP ZAMBIA CLEAN, MWANAWASA
Read more...
