Government Vows UNZA Sanitation Will Never Slip Back to Previous Levels
Secretary to the Cabinet Patrick Kangwa has pledged that government and the University of Zambia (UNZA) will not allow sanitation at the institution to deteriorate to the levels seen in the past, hailing a new era of properly maintained infrastructure under the New Dawn administration.
Speaking after inspecting progress on government-funded hostels and water sanitation systems alongside Zambia National Service (ZNS) Commander Lieutenant General Maliti Solochi, Kangwa commended ZNS and UNZA management for the quality of work carried out on the renovation of the university's sewer lines.
He explained that once complete, the sewerage supply would transfer from ZNS to the university, and that both parties had agreed the system must never again fall into disrepair. Government, he said, would put in place proper maintenance models to safeguard the new infrastructure going forward.
Kangwa called on students, management and the wider university community to take ownership of the assets delivered, stressing that the new toilets, taps and pipes were there both to use and to protect. He noted that students themselves were the most important guardians of the facilities, with everyone else able only to supplement that effort.
He thanked the project team for going beyond the original brief, addressing water lines, electricity lines and other works discovered during the course of the sewerage project. He praised ZNS and the Permanent Secretary for Defence for pressing ahead with the works even as the Ministry of Finance was still releasing funds, describing this as the spirit of the whole-of-government approach.
Kangwa also thanked the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education for their financial backing, urging continued investment so the university could be sustained at the highest standard.
Reflecting on the scale of the project, Kangwa said he had first appreciated its magnitude while flying over the site en route to Southern Province, and that seeing it on the ground confirmed the works were substantial and nearing completion. He expressed gratitude to the students, management, the Vice-Chancellor and his team, the Council, Senate, the Permanent Secretary for Infrastructure, the CEO of Lusaka Water and Sewerage, and ZNS as contractors.
He added that the whole-of-government approach had allowed teams to identify the works, design solutions where none had existed, and ultimately deliver functioning systems.