Area 18 sewage saga still haunts residents

Residents of Area 18A in the capital Lilongwe, who were affected by a sewer mix about a year ago, are blaming government for not intervening since the occurrence of the incident.

In July 2017, the residents woke up to a rude awakening and discovered that their piped water—supplied by the Lilongwe Water Board (LWB)—was contaminated with garbage from sewages.

The development raised concerns, among the residents, that they would fall prey to such waterborne diseases as diarrhea.

The contamination affected more than 300 houses and more than 1000 people.

The affected families sued services providers Malawi Housing Corporation (MHC) and LWB, demanding compensation.

An inquiry into the matter was presented to the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) last February, and singled out MHC as to blame for the incident.

However in an interview, chairperson representing the affected families, Leonard Phiri, told Nyasa Times that are still living a miserable and worrisome life saying they feel sidelined.

Phiri said when the incident happened, they thought Government would send some medical experts to assess the situation.

“I can tell you that no one came to even to assess the situation medically. This has been bad to us and our lives have never been the same,” said Phiri.

Phiri said despite the fact that LWB replaced the old pipes there is still need for MHC also to do its part.

But MHC spokesperson, Ernestina Lunguzi, said MHC already did its part as recommended by the inquiry.

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