Chirundu District Commissioner Patrick Kasambila has warned of stern action on shop owners and other traders not taking the weekly “Keep Zambia Clean, Green and Health Campaign” seriously.

Mr Kasambila  says he is unhappy with the poor attitude exhibited by most of the shop owners, traders and Chirundu residents in general for shunning the cleaning exercise that is meant to enhance cleanliness in the district.

ZANIS reports that Mr Kasambila made the directive when he took an impromptu visit to Chirundu Main Market, Yellow Jacket Market, shopping malls and surrounding trading areas.

This action took the communities visited by surprise when he was seen inspecting various premises on their compliance levels of the Keep Zambia Clean and green campaign as directed by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development every Friday from 07:30 Hours to 09:00 Hours.

He has since directed Chirundu Town Council (CTC) to come up with measures to enforce the directive which forbids traders to open their premises before 09:00 Hours in order to give the public enough time to clean their surroundings.

Mr Kasambila observed that most traders and residents do participate in the cleaning exercise by thinking that it is only the local authority’s responsibility to clean their premises.

The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has revived the “Keep Zambia Clean, Green and Health” Campaign in order to enhance cleanliness in the country.

And Chirundu Town Council is advised to quicken the process of identifying franchise companies and Community Business Enterprises (CBEs) to  complement its efforts in solid waste management.

Mr Kasambila said managing solid waste couldn’t be left to the local authority as it is a responsibility of every citizen to ensure that they dispose of garbage at designated places only in order to protect the environment.