Clergyman raps LCC over delayed salaries
Written by Millennium on March 31, 2019
CHARLES MUSONDA writes
@SunZambian
A SENIOR clergyman has criticized Lusaka City Council (LCC) management for delaying workers’ salaries, which resulted in a recent strike that threatened public health.
At the height of the strike, LCC employees denied garbage trucks access to the Chunga dumpsite, Lusaka’s main trash destination.
In an interview, Bible Gospel Church in Africa (BIGOCA) Archbishop Peter Ndhlovu, said the workers’ action posed a big risk to public health in that they forced drivers of garbage trucks to park for some time without dumping the rubbish.
“The council workers labour and they need to be paid on time. Somebody must have a human heart to talk to them and understand their predicament. Strike must be the last resort that workers must opt for.
“Let us reason together because those marooned garbage trucks endangered the lives of many people. We could have had a calamity if it rained and there would have been chaos because of a disease outbreak, which would have been uncontrollable,” Archbishop Ndhlovu said.
He said relevant authorities must move in quickly each time there were delays in paying LCC and other councils workers their monthly salaries because they play a big role in averting communicable diseases like cholera.
He said the relevant authorities must ensure that Lusaka and other parts of Zambia do not experience a cholera outbreak again
Archbishop Ndhlovu said frequent work stoppages by LCC and other councils’ workers have potential to defeat the whole purpose of the ‘Keep Zambia Clean and Green’ campaign.
He said it was sad that even burying bodies was a problem because burial permits could not be issued as a result of the strike.
