Salima Council constructing new dyke on Lifidzi River
Salima District Council is constructing a new dyke on Lifidzi River to prevent its annual flooding from affecting Lifidzi Trading Centre and Phaka Village in southern part of the district.
According to acting Assistant District Disaster Risk Management Officer (ADDRMO), Brino Kamanga, the dyke is being constructed to the tune of K 10 million funding from United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
“Lifidzi River has a number of frequent flood spots, some of them are areas of Group Village Head (GVH) Phaka and the entire Lifidzi Trading Centre.
“The the construction of this dyke will, therefore, reduce the threat caused by the river when it floods,” said Kamanga.
He said as a local council, they were sure the dyke is a worth investment considering the consequences of flooding it would prevent once completed.
“The area of GVH Phaka and Lifidzi Trading Centre are highly populated and when hit by floods, the damages are usually enormous and costly to repair, therefore, the dyke is long overdue,” said Kamanga.
He further explained that the work on the dyke uses locally available workmanship from various sectors within the council and community contribution.
“We did not employ any contractor on this work, instead we have used experts from department of irrigation and other sectors with expertise and community workforce in construction of the dyke,” said Kamanga.
In another interview, Chairperson for Phaka Village Civil Protection Committee (VCPC), Hilda Banda said the community is happy with the project.
“We really appreciate because this dyke will end the problem of flooding in this area. That is why the community has been committed in contributing sand and filling sand bags with cement to facilitate the construction,” said Banda.
