By Aristide Bance
They say the best way to really experience a foreign country is to travel by road. I had a friend of mine from Botswana come to Zambia for a visit.
I went to pick him by Lusaka Intercity bus terminus. Before we could exchange pleasantries, the first thing he said to me was, ‘My friend, I had no idea that you came from such a dirty country’. I was hurt but not offended because it was the truth.
A drive along Lumumba road reveals a seemingly long Human line of street vendors and uncollected garbage which makes the Lusaka Central Business District look very dirty. My concern is that these people spend close to 10 hours of their day conducting business so they have to do certain human activities such as eat, urinate, defecate and so on.
The question is where do these people do these things? I acted like a Lusaka visitor and I asked one street vendor where I could urinate one day and the guy casually said,’ Ah Ba guy, just do it pa corner of that ka building.’
The thing about this whole scenario is that he didn’t even suggest the nearby fee paying toilets at the Lusaka City Market. This made me realize what these people are doing on a day to day basis. Unfortunate!
We choose to keep quiet and drive in our cars, ignore our environment and proudly say we are Zambians. Pathetic!!! The Lusaka City Council is busy screaming ‘KEEP LUSAKA CLEAN’, this is a sham. Look at our pathetic environment. I am disgusted and personally I am embarrassed to be part of it.
In Zambia, we accept conditions that are not supposed to be accepted. How it pains me to call this dirty city ……..my city. Zambians are dirty people…..yes, I said it. How can we be driving posh cars and yet throw rubbish outside of the car windows right into the streets contributing to the filth in the streets. I challenge the readers / bloggers to attack me on this issue and dare them to say rubbish with regards to this article…..i will annihilate you….PLEASE TRY ME…..I DARE YOU.
I am speaking from the heart because it hurts me to see and hear people complain about the same issue year in…year out…..Blocked drainages and cholera…now seriously people, who the heck is causing the blockages and cholera….no one but you. I mean it shocks me to see people cook and eat from these filthy streets of Lusaka. Even if Zambia is a poor country, some nonsense is practically unacceptable.
The Lusaka City Council is ever crying about capacity to do their day to day activities such as garbage collection and yet dirty Zambians still throw rubbish, urinate and defecate in the streets.
A garbage Filled Drainage system along Mumbwa Road in Lusaka: the cause of blockages leading to floods and water-borne diseases like cholera and Dysentery.
Dumped Garbage in the Central Business District
The line of rail in Kamwala area is also another place of concern. How do we have such a lawless country whereby people put up stupid structures on the railway rails? Really, I am not saying that if I was elected as president of this country I would change everything but I would make my mark by ensuring that such nonsense comes to an end.
I wouldn’t compromise on such things for the sake of votes. This subject makes me really mad because the vending situation is a ticking time bomb and the mentality of many Zambians needs to change in order to effect change. I often worry about my unborn children because if I raise them in such an environment, it will be what is normal to them.
Zambians in Zambia resent Zambians living outside Zambia and call them all sorts of names like economic refugee, deserter etc., but to me living outside Zambia earning an honest living has many benefits not only economically but a better and cleaner environment in other seemingly lawful countries.
Lawlessness at its highest: Trading right by the railway line in the Kamwala area.
A visit to a country like Botswana reveals how clean a country can be. Wait, Zambian bloggers before you start shooting me down on this point PLEASE hear me out.
The argument would be why I would compare Botswana to Zambia because the population in Botswana is sparse as compared to Zambia but a tour of the central business district in Gaborone confronts you with the same scenario of way of life compared to Zambia.
You have people trying to make a living but you just don’t start a market in an empty piece of land and start vending, there are designated places of trade with proper sanitation. It’s no wonder I have never heard of a cholera outbreak there unlike here in Zambia. Fellow Zambians, let’s not stand by and watch this madness, it is an embarrassing to say none the least.
Moving right along is another place of concern right by the Kafue fly over bridge where unruly people decided to make the infamous market of DONCHI KUBEBA MARKET. To me, that is prime land and should not be wasted like that. That market is no more and I have seen some modern structures coming up there but some stands OF THE DONCHI KUBEBA MARKET still stand there making the advances in infrastructure there untidy. It really upsets me to see my country look so disorganized.
On the 24th of December, 2013, some young men were drag racing along Great East Road and I had an unfortunate run in with them as I was coming from a wedding. Don’t get me wrong, I am a sober character and under no circumstances have I ever drunk alcohol in my life.
One of the young men hit in my car, damaged my rear windscreen and fortunately they didn’t run away and they stopped. They said they had insurance which I also had. They didn’t want to involve the police as drag racing is illegal in Zambia. The other issue they were concerned with was the fact that it was the rainy season and I could not afford to move around with no rear wind screen given that the insurance process would take longer due to the industrial break of the festive season.
They offered to pay for damages and involve no police as one of the young men’s father owned a garage off Chandwe Musonda Road at a place called Strifes. Now, let me describe the place strifes to my dear readers who have never been there.
This is a place of hive of activities with car breakers, mechanics and car hustlers specializing in the sale of various car accessories trying to make any ngwee. Many people involved in accidents usually take their vehicles to these outside talented mechanics because they do not only do a good job but they are affordable as compared to their Indian and Chinese counterparts (with the Chinese as a recent market entrant in this industry).
A Mechanic working on a car at Strifes. Notice the outdated and un-used building behind.
The garage I was taken to, had state of the art machinery and they did a brilliant job but the place is dominated by Indians and Chinese nationals who run garages and outside the Indian and Chinese garages are talented Zambian mechanics who hijack the Indian and Chinese garages’ business by doing sophisticated and quick jobs on cars.
Now since these hijackers lack some tools and facilities such as spray painting machines, necessary materials to assist in repairing cars like body fillers, paints, silicon and electricity, they still go to the Indian and Chinese shops and pay to utilise these facilities so whichever way you look at it the Indians and Chinese are still being empowered.
These outside mechanics make a lot of money due to the fact that they have a huge share of the clients and do not pay any rent as they work outside and make TAX-FREE MONEY. Bingo…….there is the gold mine right there. The buildings around the place are of colonial architecture with asbestos (who uses that material in the 21st century because that’s a health hazard). To me, that’s a sitting Gold mine because what the authorities can do is;
1. demolish the whole place put modern garage houses,
2. order the people there to put up modern structures of a stipulated standard or else move away (this second option would work fine as our authorities always cry about none of funds to carry out certain activities) that would house the Indians, Chinese as well as the outside mechanics that hustle people for business.
That not only organizes the whole place by for instance, having a motor car association for mechanics or union and registered car mechanics, but the government now has control by soliciting tax from these outside mechanics.
Government is not a profit making organisation, but for smooth running of a country, it needs to have funds and Government funds come from taxes. I wonder why we are not thinking in that direction. What is amazing about this whole scenario is the fact that, just a few buildings away from this place called strifes lies our Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) House looking the other way as if they see nothing. WHAT LAWLESSNESS!!!!!!!
Can anyone remember the eye-sore that used to be where Levy Junction Mall is right now? There were some colonial buildings owned by Government Printers (correct me if I am wrong). Look at it now. It’s hard to believe that we as Zambians are under utilizing our land. It’s no wonder the Chinese are so excited in Zambia establishing whatever they can because I am sure they have not seen so much un-used or under-utilized land in their native china.
Dirt in the city along Lumumbwa Road.
Dirt from a Water drain left out in the open along Mumbwa Road
In conclusion, to show what is wrong with the whole picture in Zambia, this article is written from a perceptive of an observer who not only looks but experiences what the article is about by going to the mentioned places and looking at the deficiencies there and talking to people.
A view from the Kafue fly-over road showing a new building (in white) under construction with the remnants of the infamous Donchi Kubeba market.
An endless line of street vendors along Lumumba Road.
Sata is squarely to blame for all this.Cleaning up our cities was one of the reasons we voted for him. He has been such a let down.He has no shame. Vendors are not the only voters in Zambia.
My worry and question again is: Is this electronic paper read widely for this important topic to be read widely? Otherwise, thirteen bloggers out of thirteen million Zambians is just nothing. Or can the writer have it published in say postzambia which supports PF. Otherwise, having it republished in Lusakatimes.com which is one of the papers seeming bankrolled by one of the opposition parties will appear like frontation with PF. Hence, wont even be taken seriously.
My dear friend I even don’t know where to start commenting on this article. However, everything you have written is a fact and a painful fact, too. First, I will agree with some of the contributors who have commented on your article that Zambia needs a strong political will. Laws must be enacted to curb this filthy and dirty behaviour of all Zambians. All Zambians are very unbelievably dirty including those who live muma yard. Secondly, (I always suggest this), the government through the ministris of education, health, and tourism MUST design a subject and course for schools and higher institutions of learning that hygienically starts bringing up ‘new’ hygienically conscious Zambians right from nursery school to to college/university. This subject/course should place emphasis on appreciating nature, hygiene and cleanliness, respect for other humans and nature, respect for public property, etc. For me this can be tought through through a subject/course called TOURISM to kill two or more birds with a stone since Zambia is in a hurry to develop tourism. Otherwise should this filthy state of our towns and cities continue we should forget about encouraging visitors to our filthy country.
We are the ones that vote for these ‘care-less’ leaders. It is clear that they are not there to save the electorate but to EAT and throw more garbage in the streets. Its not just Lusaka only my dear friends, come to Kitwe. You will be welcomed warmly by those big buzzing green fries coming from Chisokone Market and Shoprite corridols. Ha ha ha my Zambia!
Ndeloleshafyee, ba mwankole
You forget to mention some four star hotel and shopping complex standing just by the railway line!
It was started by MMD..
The new PF government has just stood by instead of remedying the situation…
Good article though.
There is no difference between Tswanas and Zambians. Both can misbehave if not regulated. The Tswanas are using their laws to regulate people’s behaviour while in Zambia politicians are so desperate for the next vote that they will not dare effect laws. That is the difference. The WHOLE blame is on politicians – top politicians.
Who voted for these useless politicians?
Please repeat the TRUTH.NKANDU LUO attempted to clean the city only to be moved to the Minister of Chiefs Affairs to cause confusion.
I had hope that the “man of actions” would ensure that dirty in Lusaka is wiped out but alas i was very WRONG!!
4 sure what is going on with our lsk, pipo say something this is a very important topic…….
Gentlemen I agree with your observations on our dirty Lusaka City making it unappealing to foreigners and our own selves. Many of us have been wondering just what should be done to bring the city back to environmental sanity. We know that Just talking will yield little if not nothing. It pains even the more at the passiveness of some of our political and local authority leaders who travel to see how other countries organise their cities and yet they come back and pretend like they saw nothing. Indeed it is unbelievable that even Cairo road now is a market place for venders trading in salaula, tomato, onion, beef, fish, vegetables; the list is endless. Many of us are willing to help bring back our city to normality, forward ideas to LCC and participate in the restructuring of the minds of local
citizens.We the locals need to find a platform to give life to the talk, act and pursue goodness at every cost.
Bwana you are just wasting your breath.The type of politicians we have currently are just interested in filling up their bellies.
From time memorial having grown up in Zambia,we have not been taught the culture of keeping our surroundings clean.
They say charity begins at home.Do you expect the marketeers to keep Cairo road clean when their compounds are filthy and dirty?
Oh by the way why allow them to trade along Cairo road?
It really hurts me too, especially that when I compare Lusaka with some cities in countries that have been at war for many years. Their Cities are more organised than ours take for example Kinshasa, the city is much cleaner one wonders why as Zambians we can not take heed and be more responsible without being pushed by any body to have our environment habitable and free from the diseases that come with dirt.
U r right man. I just don’t know wat can b done because wen u put a law, somebody uses it to put money in their pocket. Mental transformation needs to take place b4 we can see physical relocation