Lukanga Water Supply and Sanitation (LgWSC) has in collaboration with SNV intensified the provision of sanitation services through desludging of waste matter from pit latrines 

LgWSC Technical and operations manager Nicholas Mwale said the undertaking is meant to increase on the sanitation coverage from the current 55 percent to about 80 percent by 2030.

Mr Mwale said that the project had its memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in 2017 with the main preparations having taken shape in 2018 while the actual implementation of the project would be done in due course.

He indicated that instead of using the company employees for the works, LgWSC instead engaged illegal emptiers to undertake the whole thing as opposed to punishing them for the illegalities.

Mr Mwale said that about 10 private emptiers had been identified, vaccinated, provided with protective clothing and the chemicals to use while carrying out the assignment and that the initial desludging exercise was expected take off by the first week of August.

He said that the emptiers would walk home with 40 percent of the salary while the remaining 60 percent would remain with the company.

“SNV secured a vacuum tanker and a vehicle and the 10 private emptiers will be operating from areas where we cannot reach, specifically in peri-urban areas like in Makululu, Shamabanse, Katondo, part of Natuseko and part of Mukobeko. So when we identified them under the project they were brought forward and were formalized and they have signed an MoU with Lukanga Water Supply and Sanitation and at the end of the month the company will be paying them something, in terms of the finances they get 40 percent and Lukanga will get 60 percent,” Mr Mwale said.

He said the assessment had already been done in all the townships where the project would be taken.

LgWSC Managing Director Yoram Sinyangwe said that had done its homework in terms of resource mobilization, organisation of business in regard to sanitation with the focus to consider onsite sanitation which always been ignored by utility companies.

Mr Sinyangwe said that the move was result of the major the major changes that have taken shape within the organisation of the water sector where the Ministry of Water and Sanitation through the National Water and Sanitation Council (NWASCO) gave LgWSC the mandate to also deliver service towards onsite sanitation.

He said that unlike the past when the company would concentrate on focus on conventional sewerage services such as the services concentrating on townships with running water in homes, a shift had been made to also consider that belonged to the peri-urban areas.

“We get the waste from the onsite facilities such as latrines and deposit it safely in line with goal number six and SNV has helped us reorganize our company by providing us with knowledge, resource and skills to try and re-strategise where we have come up with Sanitation strategy to try and address those gaps,” Mr Sinyangwe said.

He said that that apart from working with SNV, the utility company was also working with the local authorities building linkages with an understanding that the water sector derives authority from the councils.

Mr Sinyangwe said with collaboration positive results were expected to be produced by the water utility company.

“They also provided some funding in procuring equipment which will be used to desludging the pit latrines, there is what is called E-vac, motor vehicle for the transportation of the waste and capacity building in the areas of training the communities and our employees and proving capacity building within our establishment by providing money to employ people to deal with that aspect,” he said.