Gule wa Mkulu Used in Clean-Up Exercise in Neno

Gule wa Mkulu dancer during the exercise Gule wa Mkulu dancer during the exercise - pic by Steve Kalungwe

The Neno District Council on Friday reignited the fire of the Presidential Clean-Up Exercise where it cleaned the Neno main Boma market which has been untidy for long.

Gule wa Mkulu spiced up the occasion which mobilised a lot of people to take up the initiative which also aims at averting the cholera outbreak.

Speaking at the exercise, Neno District Hospital Director of Health and Social Services, Dr. Enock Ndalama appealed to the people plying their trade in the market to take personal responsibility in making sure that their surroundings are always clean.

He then disclosed that in the district, 710 people got infected with cholera and 10 died of the preventable disease.

"The deaths ranged from young to the old, this shows that the disease doesn't segregate, hence the importance of exercising hygiene all the times," said Ndalama.

He further reminded the people of Neno to take a suspected cholera patient quickly to the hospital while rehydrating the patient.

In his remarks Neno Market Chairperson Robinson Chapendeka asked the council for toilets and piped water supply in the market, saying the current situation exposes the marketers to the pandemic.

The sentiments were echoed by Traditional Authority Chekucheku who reminded the council of its responsibility of making sure that the market has enough workforce, saying currently only two people are working on garbage collection.

"The council should redouble its efforts by employing enough staff to take care of the market, and also sorry to say this, please clean the toilets at the hospital, they are in bad state, a recipe for the cholera," said the T/A.

Nonetheless, Councilor for Chikonde ward, Bizwas Maganga thanked the people selling their merchandise in the market for joining hands with the council with a plea to continue the exercise beyond the Friday Presidential Clean-Up exercise.

He then suggested to the council to use secret ballot in allocating shops that have been built in the new Neno Boma market to avoid favoritism and unnecessary squabbles.

Meanwhile, council chairperson councilor Mark Ngwangwa, who was also the guest of honour at the auspicious occasion, reminded the people that they should not relent but encourage each other in observing hygiene.

The Neno Clean-Up exercise was organised by the Department of Water and Sanitation with funding from a World Bank initiative, Malawi Watershed Services Improvement Project (MWASIP).

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