SANFROSSA MANYINDA writes
SOME Kitwe residents are cultivating vegetables using raw faecal matter after puncturing the Nkana Water and Sanitation company sewer pipes.
As a result, the Kitwe City Council (KCC) has issued a stern action against perpetrators, as it was illegal to use untreated sewer water on vegetables meant for human consumption.
Council officials discovered that the growing of vegetables using raw faecal matter from vandalized pipes in Mwaiseni area under the Copperbelt Energy Cooperation (CEC) pylons was rife.
Public Relations Officer Fridah Leyamina expressed sadness that the vice was rampant and warned that the local authority would take stern action against perpetrators of the vice.
“Those involved in this act of vandalising sewer lines and deviating raw sewer into their gardens will not be spared as the council will ensure that they all face the wrath of the law. We will not tolerate this kind of behaviour,” Ms Leyamina said.
She wondered how people could think of supplying vegetables watered with human waste to their fellow human beings.
“The Public health Act Cap 295 of the laws of Zambia does not allow watering gardens with untreated faecal matter.
“The faecal matter contains pathogens and once applied to vegetables the pathogens are absorbed into the vegetables and when consumed may have a negative effect on the health of the consumers,” she explained.
Ms Leyamina said the council would soon uproot all the vegetables watered using faecal matter in Mwaiseni.
