Govt moves to end groundwater contamination

Ministry of Local Government, Unity and Culture has said it is moving towards ending construction of traditional pit latrines that promote contamination of ground water in the country’s cities.

This was revealed yesterday when ministry officials appeared before the Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament in Lilongwe to discuss the on-site sanitation and municipal sewage management by laws.

 Ministry of Local Government director of local government services Douglas Mkweta said they are promoting various technologies for management of sewage.

He said: “In the past the lining for pit latrines had some holes to allow liquid waste pass through. Now the technology is to line completely so that when waste is contained in that pit latrine it is collectable through various means.”

Mkweta said the ministry has started by supporting Lilongwe City Council (LCC) to come up with by-laws that will promote sanitation and management of sewage to end further contamination of ground water. He said contamination of ground water puts lives at risk.

LCC chief executive officer McCloud Kadammanja said the council expects that residents will comply with the by-laws to properly manage sewage in the city and promote quality of ground water.

“However, the biggest challenge is that people in slums do not have the financial muscle to construct modern toilets and it is also in such areas where sewage management is a big problem,” he said.

Legal Affairs Committee chairperson Albert Mbawala called for harmonisation of laws on waste but also ensure that the penalties are punitive.

“Compliance issues are a problem. We have seen operators who manage garbage not complying with regulations put by the councils.

“They litter everywhere and the councils are not taking them to task,” he said.

Ministry of Water and Sanitation PS Elias Chimulambe said government has also moved to prohibit abstraction of ground water and government is monitoring the situation.

He said water boards are the ones to provide water to residents.

Chimlambe said government is currently sensitising people that it will decommission the water source put in place by people.

“When you check the water quality for shallow wells and boreholes it is not good. This is why we faced a lot of challenges with cholera, especially in urban areas where people use pit latrines,” he said.