Residents of Zambia Housing Compound in Solwezi are set to have their water supply restored following the allocation of over K300,000 by Solwezi Municipal Council towards repairing damaged water pipes. The funds will go towards replacing underground pipes which were damaged…

Residents of Zambia Housing Compound in Solwezi are set to have their water supply restored following the allocation of over K300,000 by Solwezi Municipal Council towards repairing damaged water pipes.

The funds will go towards replacing underground pipes which were damaged during the council’s ongoing road construction works.

Speaking during an inspection of road networks in the area, Solwezi Mayor, Evans Lubelenga, said the council was committed to ensuring that residents regain access to clean and reliable water once the works are completed.

He assured residents that water supply will soon be restored, adding that the construction of access roads was equally important in improving service delivery, particularly during emergencies.

Mr Lubelenga noted that the absence of proper access roads makes it difficult for emergency response teams and other service providers to reach the community.

“Access to proper road networks is a recipe for development,” he said.

He further said it is  for this reason that Solwezi Municipal Council has embarked on opening road networks in Zambia Housing Compound in order to enhance service delivery in the area.

Mr Lubelenga however said the construction of access roads to Zambia Housing Compound has caused disruption of water supply following the damaging of underground water pipes by the earth moving machines.

He has since asked the Zambia Housing Compound residents to be patient as the council is doing everything possible to reconnect them to water.

Meanwhile, the residents said the disruption of water in the area has made them vulnerable to diarrheal diseases.

One of the residents, Mary Chaluchanda, said ever since the council started working on roads, water pipes have been cut resulting in the community not having water.

“Our worry is that there is cholera in the country so we are calling upon the Mayor and the council to help us because the water we are fetching from the boreholes is not safe,” she said.

Another resident, Florence Mutepuka, said two of the biggest challenges the residents are facing is bad road network and lack of water.

“Currently, we are getting water from this untreated well. This is why we are having a lot of diarrhea cases in the community,” she said.

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