Zomba City Mayor Christopher Jana has condemned the construction of houses on mountain slopes, hills, and river banks, saying this contributes to environmental degradation and contravenes the Environmental Act.
This was said during the commemoration of the National Day of Climate Action in the city under the theme: Collective Action Towards Urban Wellbeing and Resilience to Climate Change.
The commemoration started with a solidarity walk called; Green and Clean City Parade from Matawale Turn Off to Botanical Gardens where all the activities took place among them, dances by a cultural troupe from the Malawi Prison Services in Zomba and Army Brass Band
He, therefore, appealed to the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) and Southern Region Water Board (SRWB)to stop connecting those that construct houses in such prohibited places to control further environmental degradation.
Jana said the commemoration of the Day of Climate Change Action provided an opportunity for city residents to reflect on ways of making Zomba City green and clean, and he further appealed to the residents to plant more trees as a reforestation drive to places where deforestation took place.
He appealed for a collective responsibility from city residents, organisations, and the business community to make Zomba City green and clean.
He, therefore, commended organisations such as Oxfam Malawi, LEAD Centenary Bank, etc, for supporting the commemoration with finances.
“Let’s have a vision of what our city should look like. Let us think together and unanimously do one thing to make our city green and clean,” Jana said.
Board Chairperson of National Herbarium and Botanic Gardens, Professor Sosten Chiotha, commended Zomba City Council for commemorating the International Day of Climate Action, saying this will compel city residents to be environmentally conscious to make Zomba City green and clean.
Professor Chiotha, who is also the Director of LEAD, advised responsible authorities to avoid allocating plots in protected areas such as mountain slopes, hills and river banks, saying this contributes to environmental degradation, whose effects become unbearable to the population.
District Commissioner for Zomba, Reinhard Chavula, Senior Chiefs Mlumbe and Malemia, Traditional Authority Mwambo, representatives from the Malawi Defence Force, Malawi Police Service, politicians and the business community attended the commemoration.
