LUSAKA Province Minister Bowman Lusambo says flooding in Lusaka due to heavy rains is normal, adding that the city being submerged in water does not indicate bad infrastructure in the capital city.
In an interview, Lusambo downplayed the heavy rainfall’s impact on the city’s road infrastructure, saying the recurrence of floods was normal as other cities, such as Dubai, had experienced the same.
He, however, explained that government was in the process of expanding the drainage systems in Lusaka to absorb the huge volume of water during rainy seasons.
“I remember very well that Dubai was submerged and floods are not a sign of bad infrastructure. You can have infrastructure and you can also have floods. The issue of Lusaka and floods I can assure you that in certain areas where we have issues of floods like Kanyama or some selected areas, but as government, we are doing everything possible to make sure that we put good infrastructure in our province. The reason why we have been saying that Zambia’s infrastructure or roads, which we have in our country, we can compare it to any other country, it’s the high standards of roads, which we are giving to our people,” Lusambo said.
“We are doing drainages in our provinces, even in our districts, we are doing drainages and I can assure you that some of the floods, which you have been seeing in the construction sites, it’s normal, it is very normal. As a Minister, I am not ashamed, it is very normal to have floods in the construction site because we are making our roads better. We are trying to expand the road network and the drainages as well.”
And Lusambo insisted that the continued flooding was not government’s fault because residents had continued to construct illegal structures on reserved areas.
“So, for those people who are saying the ‘Los Angeles Bowman is talking about…’ Yes, it is Los Angeles, which I have been talking about, because the President has put in a lot of money in infrastructure and I can assure them at the end of the day, all of these things will be a thing of the past. We are expanding the drianages, we have seen that Lusaka has struggled with floods. When you visit my province and my district, Lusaka, you will find that we are doing a lot of drainages. If you go to Mungwi Road Industrial area, we are opening up big drainages like the one, which we have in CBD Bombay Drainage,” said Lusambo.
“So, for me, I can tell the people of Lusaka that, yes, it is true that Zambia and Lusaka has really changed and we will continue transforming Zambia. I am not ashamed! To those people who are posting and talking about the floods in Lusaka, we need their support. As government, we are on the ground and we are working on the infrastructure for all Lusaka residents. I want also to say that those people that are building in areas that they are not supposed to build, they will continue to experience these floods. When they experience these floods, it’s not government’s fault. First of all, it is their fault, but at the end of the day, we are government; we are the people’s government; we have no choice but to attend to their challenges. But let them also think on their behalf, on behalf of Lusaka Province and on behalf of the country as well.”
