Lilongwe City mayor upbeat on waste disposal

Lilongwe City Council mayor Richard Banda has expressed optimism that the council will succeed in clearing waste in the city despite facing a number of challenges.  

He made the sentiments yesterday when Pakistan Welfare Association and Sana Mega Stores handed over a refuse truck worth K10 million to the council.

Banda said the donation came at the right time when the council is trying to address challenges on waste management.

He said: “The council needs about 14 more trucks to serve the city’s population because so far, we have four vehicles.

“However, working with private refuse collectors has helped us to cover most of the areas and we hope with more well-wishers coming to our aid as well as our own initiatives, the council will manage the waste in the city.”

Banda said every day the council collects 560 tonnes of waste from the city.

Pakistan Welfare Association chairperson Aamir Younus Patel said they donated the vehicle as part of their corporate social responsibility.

He said as a welfare association, they will continue helping the council whenever they can.

“Lilongwe City Council has been our partner for a long time and we will continue working with them to ensure the city is a better place,” he said.

On his part, Lilongwe City West legislator George Zulu (Malawi Congress Party) said the only way to manage waste was by having vehicles in every ward in the city.

In random interviews, residents commended the initiative, saying poor waste management was making the city untidy.

A resident of Biwi Townhip, Alinafe Chunga asked the council to scale up garbage collection, especially around Lilongwe Depot and Market.