Celebrate the jubilee in a clean environment-Choma DC

Choma District Commissioner Bernadette Hamweemba has led several heads of government departments on sensitisation campaigns on sanitation to all townships in the district in preparation for this year’s independence golden Jubilee celebrations.

Speaking when she addressed scores of residents in Zambia Compound in Choma recently Ms Hamwemba said it would be a shame to celebrate the Jubilee in a dirty environment hence the move to embark on the campaign.

Ms Hamweemba said the departments dubbed the theme for their campaign as ‘Celebrate the Golden Jubilee in a clean environment’.

She said the theme was selected to promote a clean environment in all townships in Choma by engaging residents to uphold hygienic standards in order to reduce incidences of preventable diseases such as diarrhoea and Cholera.

“We decided to embark on this exercise for you residents to work with us in keeping surrounding of Choma clean. This is our district, we need to always keep it clean, and as a DC, I do not want to be a DC for a dirty town” she said.

Ms Hamweemba said the residents would be engaged into a cleanliness competition and the first five houses to build toilets shall be awarded.

She directed the communities to form committees to deal with residents engaged in illegal businesses such as brewing alcohol locally called Kachasu.

Choma Municipal Council Public Health Officer Samuel Lanci appealed to the residents to build toilets at their houses.

He said, it was an offence for people to live in houses without proper sanitation facilities such as toilets and he warned that the council would be conducting regular inspections saying those abrogating the law would not be condoned by the local authority.

Meanwhile area councillor Annie Hamunyangwa thanked government for sensitizing the people on the importance of good sanitary conditions.

Ms Hamunyangwa pledged her commitment to work with the community to ensure that each household constructed a toilet.

She noted that Zambia compound had about 2000 households out of which only about 500 households had toilets citing that the situation was pathetic.

The departments mandated to sensitize the community on sanitation and other issues include the District Education Board Secretary, Ministry of Health, Choma Municipal Council (CMC) and the Police under the department of the Victim Support Unit (VSU).