Cable theft cuts water supply to 300 Solwezi households
Breaking News Zambia
Top StoriesAbout 300 households in the Kyawama area of Solwezi District have been left with no access to clean and safe water after unknown people cut and stole a 100 metres copper cable that connects to a water pump at a community borehole. Kyawama ward Councillor Kakoma Mutoshi has…
About 300 households in the Kyawama area of Solwezi District have been left with no access to clean and safe water after unknown people cut and stole a 100 metres copper cable that connects to a water pump at a community borehole.
Kyawama ward Councillor Kakoma Mutoshi has confirmed the incident to the media in Solwezi district today and described the theft as unfortunate.
Mr Mutoshi said it is unfortunate that some people want to frustrate the council’s efforts of providing clean and safe water to its people through vandalism.
He said though the water pump is intact, water cannot be accessed and that households will go back to drawing water from shallow wells exposing them to water borne diseases.
Mr Mutoshi said community projects are meant to benefit everyone and called on residents in the area to be on the lookout and guard against vandalism.
“That borehole was done using ward development funds from the mayor’s office to provide clean water to people, a cable has been stolen and though the pump is intact, we cannot pump water for people to use and it means going back to old ways of shallow wells,” he said.
The civic leader called on community members to work with police and ensure people behind such acts are dealt with.
“The people who are behind this are not yet known but the matter has been reported to police and anyone with information should go and report so that they are caught,” he said.
Mr Mutoshi has since called for calm as his office works to find a solution to ensure a new cable is bought and reinstalled.
“For now I have asked the households near the borehole to remove the pump and secure it until we find money to buy a new cable and ask council engineers to reinstall it. All I ask is for people to be calm as we look for resources to replace the stolen cable which may take a bit of time,” he said.
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