Parliament to summon Lilongwe Water Board, Council over sewage horror
Malawi Parliament’s committee on environment and natural resources say it has summoned Lilongwe Water Board and Lilongwe City Council over the horror which residents in the capital especially those in Area 18 faced by consuming water contaminated with sewage .
Committee chair Welani Chilenga said all preparations for the meeting has now been completed.
“We want to find out as to what happened that people should drink water that was contaminated with the human waste, that was disgusting,” said Chilenga.
The summoning of the Lilongwe Water Board and Lilongwe City Council officials before parliament comes barely a week after they appeared before Malawi Human Rights Commission to answer questions on the same issues.
Chilenga said after the meeting, the committee would make recommendations to the plenary of the 193 strong House.
Lilongwe Water Board chief executive officer Alfonso Chikuni blamed Lilongwe City Council’s obsolete sewer pipes which he said broke and contaminated the water.
The LWB CEO attributed the existence of worn out and rusty water pipes to a backlog of investments where the materials were not being replaced despite that some of them are over 50 years old.
At least 18 residents were in hospital suffering from diarrhoea due to the contaminated water.
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The City Council also needs to be summoned for a hearing on why the road (known as Mtaya Road) from Six Miles to Areas 38, 24 and 23 is used as a dumpsite instead of dumping the wastes in the designated area. The road looks pathetic and one would wonder what our City is thinking of regarding human health and safety. It is also impassable during the rainy season because of waste dumping. When I say “waste” I mean all kinds of waste from different sectors and industries in Lilongwe. I guess Beautify Malawi Trust could help ensure that the… Read more »
WHILE PEOPLE ARE DRINKING BIBI, CITY ASSEMBLIES HAVE MONEY TO DONATE TO DPP
The CEO’s of both LWB and LCA would not survive a whip during Kamuzu with this kind of recklessness . This is what we call incompetence at its highest degree. How can they let their fellow brothers and sisters in the capital feast human excreta. This is disturbing indeed and must not be tolerated. There is a blame game here so both must pay a heavy price.