On minister’s remarks and new Lilongwe City CEO

For those who critically understand the roles of councils, understand that cities are meant, out of many other roles, to protect the public’s health through many activities aimed at ensuring that city residents are protected from diseases and that their good health is promoted.

The stories of poor status of health services in our major cities have been documented numerous times, most important of them all being poor sanitation and general environmental health. These problems have manifested both in areas of solid waste and liquid waste. Sights of indiscriminately disposed solid waste and spillage of sewage have been common.

However, we have been reading in newspapers several reasons being given by both councillors and technical staff trying to justify the status quo. At one time I tuned in to MBC TV and saw an elected councillor leading a group of so-called concerned individuals clearing a heap of indiscriminately disposed waste. At the end of the exercise, the lady had the audacity of explaining why they embarked on the exercise, saying it ios because the city on its own would not manage the waste. I laughed my lungs out.

I asked myself that if she and her colleagues thought the city council was not in a position to manage the waste, how sustainable was the solution they were trying to portray: A group of so-called citizens going out to clean the garbage. Where are they now and how often have they cleared waste?

I have done that with my former Environmental Health students in college but as way of imparting to them some knowledge and attitude on nuisances associated with poor solid waste management, not that they should be busy cleaning streets once they finish college. But that they should be able to design technical programmes to manage the same or design messages to educate the masses on negative effects of poor waste management.

Now the Minister of Local Government came to my rescue recently, when in an apparent agreement with what this column has been complaining about, lambasted the Lilongwe City officials on failure to properly maintain waste systems in the city, both solid and liquid.

The minister had apparently gone on a familiarisation tour within the city establishments. Boy, was the minister angry with what he saw. If the minister had been reading this column before, I am sure during this day he totally agreed with all the issues which we have been raising here. You remember that in one column I even questioned if the Lilongwe City has a mayor. Anyway I saw his car parked on his parking lot at Civic Offices. May be we have one.

The minister witnessed very poorly managed solid waste even within the yard of the Old Town Market. And he saw spilling liquid waste next to foods being sold in the market.

The Minister lambasted the city staff and to our relief he downplayed the issue of lack of resources as a main reason but pure incompetency. The minister said the city has capacity to raise funds to be able to properly manage waste in the city. Funds are not a main reason.

The Minister of Local Government, very familiar with internal issues and with powers to hire and fire has spoken, we expect improvements. What about with news that the city has just hired a new chief executive officer? Take your time to study problems rocking the city, one of which is the one above. I am sure there was a question on waste management during your interviews and surely you gave convincing responses. It’s time for practical exams. n