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Zambia is said to be generally a beautiful country. Its
cities are blessed with green vegetation and well planned townships that are
said to be built and paved from copper sales.
But in recent years, its beauty has seemingly being hidden
and buried under, plastics, bottles, papers and other waste materials.
These materials are indiscriminately dumped and thrown
almost anywhere and everywhere.
And most of these materials are remains of products that are
manufactured by different companies .The products are packed in plastics,
bottles and wrappers that end up indiscriminately dumped and thrown on the
streets of Zambia. And most of cases, these companies do not invest in initiatives
to manage the waste that they produce.
And this state of affairs has gone unchecked for many years.
But now, the smelly stench, produced from heaps and hills of
garbage, dotted in different parts of Zambia, have become so strong such that
they have reached the Presidents nose.
In his maiden address to the National Assembly on September
18 2015, President Edgar Lungu acknowledged the dirtiness of the country. As a
result he directed the Ministry of Local Government to fully revive the keep
Zambia Clean Campaign.
On Saturday September 3, the Ministry of Local Government
moved swiftly and officially re-launched the Keep Zambia Clean Campaign, dubbed,
Smart Zambia Campaign.
Minister of Local Government John Phiri called on all
companies to make Zambia clean.
“ I am asking all companies to make Zambia Clean by
investing a little money in the Campaign ,I am very proud of Zambia breweries
who are investing in initiatives to recycle waste that they produce ,especially
opaque beer packs. I am therefore urging other companies to follow suit” Dr.
Phiri said.
And as a measure to make the campaign as practical and as inclusive
as possible, Government through Dr. Phiri declared the first Saturday of every
month as a general cleaning day.
“Cleanness is an everyday thing, but on every first Saturday
of every month, citizens and households will be required to engage in cleanness
activities on their surroundings and communities” Dr. Phiri said.
The step taken by Government to sweep Zambia clean is long
overdue, but it will need efforts from all of us, if Zambia is to turn into a clean
and green country.
The Zambia Youthful Thought therefore recommends that the
Local Authorities (The councils) come up with By-Laws which will compel people
to practice good waste and environmental management habits.
If anything, the By-Laws should also lead to the prosecution
of anyone found wanting of littering and indiscriminately dumping waste.
Further public transporters, especially those that have
buses operating on local routes, should ensure that they put bins on their buses
where passengers will throw things, as opposed to throwing them outside the
widows as is the trend currently.
As President Egdar Lungu once said, things don’t just happen,
they are made to happen. Likewise, Zambia will not make itself clean, it’s us
the people who will, especially us the young ones because we have the energy.
This can also serve as an opportunity to create wealth and a
means to create employment. Young entrepreneurs should team up and come up with
innovative ways to manage and recycle waste and make money out of it. I am sure
Government and other stake holders are willing to support anything tangible
that will make Zambia Clean.
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