Residents of Penridge community say they do not feel Zambian because their plight has not been taken seriously Residents of Ndola’s Misundu Pendridge block area are calling on local authority’s to elevate them from the abject poverty they have been living in since independence.
74 year old Emmanuel Chimuola told the Lusaka Star that Pendridge farm block has been underdeveloped for a long time now.
“I have lived in this area for 42 years and in all these years our area lacks the basic facilities needed for people to live properly”, he said.
He said the residents in the area have to walk 10km to access medical care from Kawama clinic because the clinic in the area is not functional.
He added that apart from an Under Five Outreach Clinic that comes from Kawama clinic every last Thursday of the month, Pendridge residents have difficulties when taking their children and adults with serious cases to the clinic because of the distance.
“In 1994 upon request from the residents, the Ndola City Council (NCC) built a clinic but it has never been used due to lack of equipment”, he said.
Mr Chimuola said the clinic infrastructure is almost collapsing because it has not been properly taken care of and there is no one willing to renovate it.
He said that as a community they have written several letters to the local authorities but to no avail.
“As a community we do not feel like Zambians because our pleas are not taken seriously,” he said.
And Ruth Mulenga also a resident said aside from lacking a health facility the area is in need of piped water as the residents depend on wells as their water source.
“We use wells as our source of water but it is not healthy especially during the rainy season because the water gets contaminated from the different substances that are washed into the well,” Mrs Mulenga said.
She added that there are no schools nearby and all the children in the area have to walk 8km to Chikumbi Basic School in Masati district.
Mrs Mulenga has since appealed to the local authorities to look into the matter especially in the areas of health and education.
And when asked to comment on the matter, area councillor Chapi Munthali said he is aware of the problems in his area and that plans are underway to try and correct the situation in the area.