The Mzuzu City Council (MCC) says the MASAF IV Productive Public Works Programme which MCC commenced in the city on Tuesday will reduce the Council’s challenges in managing waste at dumpsites.
The Council’s Director of Planning and Development Alexander Chirambo said this in an interview in Mzuzu on Wednesday.
“The Project has started on a good note. Through the Programme we are expecting to construct a shed at Nsilo that will assist us to sort out the waste as part of our approach to waste management which is the four Rs of waste management; reduce, reuse, recycle and recover.
“For us to achieve this principle, we will construct the shed which will also assist in the production of manure to help us to control breeding of flies so that the surrounding community will not be affected by diseases such as typhoid which are caused by the houseflies,” said Chirambo.
Recent media reports indicate that two people who came from communities near one of MCC’s dumpsites, Nsilo Waste Management Facility, died of Typhoid this month alone. The sporadic Typhoid cases were linked to Nsilo Dumpsite where vast numbers of houseflies reportedly swarm houses in nearby communities.
But according to Chirambo, funds from the MASAF IV Programme alone cannot completely alleviate the waste management challenges at Nsilo Dumpsite as the Council still needs massive capital injections.
Chirambo asked social enterprises and other investors to partner with the Council to find sustainable and long-lasting waste management solutions for the entire City.
“Indeed through the programme we are able to commend the LDF, however, there is still need for support for the Council to have a fully functional waste management facility in the City.
“Those in waste management can come and give us a hand. We still need a lot of machinery in the plant. We have insufficient machines such as rolling machines. So, we still require more capital investment and this cannot just be financed locally,” Chirambo said.
A press release issued by the Mzuzu City Council this week and signed by the Council’s CEO Dr Macloud Kadam’manja indicates that government with funding from the World Bank has allocated K219, 121, 965 for projects under MASAF IV.
Under MASAF IV, development projects aimed at improving roads, health service delivery and environmental management will be implemented by people from low income households in Mzuzu.
According to the statement, this year, 8626 people from 10 catchment areas will benefit from the program by providing labour for a daily wage of K900 from K600 in the past years.
The catchment areas in this year’s MASAF IV include Mzilawaingwe-Chiputula, Msongwe, Masasa, Chibavi-Chibanja, Mchengautuba, Lupaso-Nkhorongo and Katawa.
