Zambia’s former Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union, Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba has blamed the country’s government for the cholera crisis which has so far, claimed 150 lives and left several others hospitalised
The Diplomat, who is a member of the Patriotic Central Committee in Zambia appeared live on News Central Television’s Breakfast Central on Friday, January 5 to discuss the latest cholera outbreak in the country, as well as its impact on Zambians.
Mwamba disclosed that since the cholera outbreak and other related diseases like dysentery and typhoid in Zambia October 2023, the government has failed to proactively tackle the widespread of the disease.
His words:
“The cholera outbreak started in October 2023, and 150 people have died so far.
“We are yet to see any public awareness campaigns on the dangers of the disease, nor curtailing measures, such as restriction of movements, and mixing in open places. We haven’t seen any of such measures. Zambia last experienced cholera in 2018.
“Lusaka is the epicenter of this outbreak. A number of townships there lack clean water and drainage facilities.
“We are in the middle of the rain seizure, and as members of the opposition we are calling on the government to conduct awareness exercises, declog water drainages, and provide clean water to our people.
“It’s a sad situation, yet our leaders have been on Christmas and new year holidays, and many of them haven’t even returned,” he said.
Abandoned water and sanitation projects
The Diplomat accused the President Hakainde Hichilema-led government of failing to carry on with the legacy of the previous administration, and failing to prioritise the needs of Zambians. He said ongoing projects bordering on water and sanitation had been abandoned.
“Under the previous administration, there were ongoing projects on construction of tarmac roads to ensure clean townships, building of water drainage, and lots of water projects to ensure that people had access to clean water.
“I think that these projects have not been followed up aggressively, especially in high density areas of our townships. We have been appealing to the government. At the moment we have over five outbreaks: dysentery, a water borne disease, typhoid, again a water borne disease, and now we have cholera outbreak.
“We have called on the government to prioritise the issue of water and sanitation in Zambia. Most of our townships now lack water,” he said.
Zambian Government slow in responding to crisis
Speaking on government response to the cholera crisis, Mwamba said it was very slow, and largely ineffective.
“We have been appealing to the government to step up in their response. For instance, we our part offered to clean the town, but they brought in politics and couldn’t allow us to clean the garbage in the Lusaka business district.
“Public awareness started airing yesterday, January 4 on National Television, but it is too late. The other day, we lost 23 people in one day, then we lost 16. So within a period of two days, we lost over 39 lives. We have seen government come on board very late. They have opened one of the stadiums as a cholera centre because our health centres and facilities are totally overwhelmed.
“We have recorded one health worker who was attending to patients. He succumbed to the infection that he got. A male nurse here in Lusaka.
“We think the government hasn’t paid serious attention to this crisis. These diseases are very easy to manage; just resolve the issue of water and sanitation. Zambia is experiencing one of the worst economic crisis in the last 30 years. The high cost of living amid poverty and unemployment brought about by underdevelopment, is unimaginable.
“With such report, you would expect a leader that responds promptly to a crisis like it is a in crisis. You cannot have a leadership whose ministers are busy showing pictures of them in South Africa, Cape town, Dubai, or famzing in their homesteads while the country is experiencing a crisis.
“Their [nonchalant attitude] towards the people’s welfare has reawakened diseases that we thought would never occur in our country again. For example, syphilis in some towns. The country is facing challenges it hasn’t faced in a very long time, yet the government does not respond urgently,” he said.
Resumption date extended
News Central reports that the extreme nature of the cholera crisis has compelled authorities to postpone resumption of schools in the country by another three weeks, the Minister of Education disclosed on Thursday.
Schools are now scheduled to resume on January 29, 2024.
According to the Education Minister Hon. Douglas Syakalima, the directive is to ensure the safety of learners, as schools will be thoroughly cleaned and provided with water and sanitation facilities for a healthy and cholera-free learning space.