By Moses Nyirenda:
Lilongwe City Council (LCC) has closed Central Poultry( 2000) Limited in Lilongwe Area 36 due to hygiene concerns.
This followed a tour within the City by Mayor, Richard Banda who said the spread of cholera outbreak is challenging hence the council’s decision to tighten up its measures on hygiene to mitigate the outbreak.
The Mayor also closed Wakawaka market in Kaphiri township.
“The cholera which we have in the city is a big challenge, for this reason we have stepped up with some measures to deal with the challenge.
“So far we have closed some places in the city where hygiene is not there and these places are Wakawaka market as well as Central Poultry 2000 Limited and we have advised the owners of these places that their places will be reopened until we see the changes,” Banda said.
He also said that, as city council they are committed to making sure that individuals and institutions in Lilongwe city are complying with the by-laws which were constituted by the city council to support in improving hygiene in the city.
As part of enforcing the by-laws on hygiene, the city council also recently banned the selling of chips and meat (Kanyenya) in Lilongwe city markets and Lilongwe bus depot.
According to the Mayor, apart from closing some facilities and banning some businesses on hygiene grounds in Lilongwe, the city council has also intensified clean up initiatives in the city.
“Our staff are already on the ground and we have also had some other trucks collect all garbage within the city and we have also hired additional equipment to help us clean up the city,” he said.
In his comment, Ministry of Health Public Relations Officer, Adrian Chikumbe hailed LCC for showing commitment to help in combating cholera outbreak in the country especially in Lilongwe city.
“As the presidential taskforce on cholera is asking stakeholders to take part in the fight against cholera outbreak in the country, it is encouraging to see the city council showing commitment in the fight against the disease,” Chikumbe said.
