Public outrage over filthy Inter-city toilets

By Ann zulu

TRAVELLERS and visitors have expressed outrage at the state of the fee-paying public toilets at Lusaka’s Inter-city bus terminus – the country’s inter-connector hub to all parts of Zambia and beyond.

                                  Inter-city bus terminus 

While a toilet is supposed to be a clean place to prevent the breeding of germs, council-owned toilets at the busy Inter-city bus terminus have turned into bacteria incubators.

A visit at the terminus’ ladies toilets  revealed a bad and disgusting state of affairs, as the toilets were not flushing; the floors were strewn with feacal matter and urine and toilet door handles were broken.

And some travelers talked to expressed anger and shock at the filthy state of the toilets and accused Lusaka City Council of failing to maintain the facility although the council was collecting thousands of Kwacha every day from people paying to use them.

Nabwalya Kabwe, a business lady who travels to and from Nakonde at least twice a week, noted that the state of the toilets at the country’s largest bus station was a major health risk to the public, as people using them were exposed to diseases.

She said it was absurd that the local authority had failed to maintain the toilets when people where paying K2 to use them.

“It is so disgusting; immediately you just step in all you see are faeces and urine everywhere on the floor and I wonder what the local authority is doing about this because this issue has been there for quite a while now.

“The toilet doors can’t lock because the handles are broken, so one has to hold the door shut while using the toilet,” she said.

Another traveler, Mary Moonga, implored LCC to act quickly as the poor state of the toilets at the bus terminus was an embarrassment to Zambians and a disgrace to travelers from other countries who used them.

“The council should do something as soon as possible because we have visitors and tourists who use these toilets; what will they think of us as a country?

“Health inspectors should visit the toilets and see for themselves; they keep collecting money but fail to maintain health standards,” she said.