Unhygienic Chilenje market conditions worry traders

LINDA SOKO TEMBO Writes

A TRADER at Lusaka’s Chilenje Market has complained about the overpowering stench from the rotting garbage which she says makes selling from there unbearable.

Ms. Salome Zulu, a chicken vendor, has appealed to the local authorities, working with the market committee, to ensure the garbage is collected and taken to the appropriate dump site.

Ms Zulu said that the current situation at the market poses a danger to the health of the traders and buyers, and is no longer conducive for doing business

“As you can see, there are heaps of garbage just a few metres from where we are selling from. This is now like a dump site because some people from around the market also dump their refuse here in the night,” she said.

She told The Sun that the trader have in the past made several reports to Lusaka City Council regarding the situation at the market but that nothing has been done to date.

“As marketers, we are faced with this same health risk on a daily basis and do not even know what to do now,” said Ms. Zulu.

She also complained about the poor drainage system at the market whose soak ways, she said, are now blocked and has resulted in the effluent to overflow everywhere.

She observed that the sewer system in the area was intended to service the houses but it is under pressure because more facilities, like the market and shops, are connected to it.

According to Ms. Zulu, attempts by Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company (LWSC) to unblock the sewer system at the market, have also not yielded much results.