Open manholes worry Mzuzu City
Mzuzu City Council has expressed concern over open manholes belonging to different service providers around the city, saying they pose a risk to residents and dent the image of the city.
In an interview on Friday, the council’s public relations officer McDonald Gondwe said the manholes were part of the city’s infrastructure; hence, the need to be well maintained and covered.
“We appeal to all service providers who own the manholes to ensure people’s safety by covering them so that they are not a risk to people,” he said.
Gondwe said some of the manholes get filled with water, thereby enhancing breeding of mosquitoes.
He also said some residents use such open manholes for dumping litter.
Commenting on the matter, Malawi Telecommunications Limited (MTL) Northern Region networks and customer service manager Bonwith Kaonga said the company’s manholes are always covered.
However, he said most of the manholes without covers were vandalised.
Malawi News Agency spotted a number of manholes in the city which were not covered, some of them belonging to MTL.
Northern Region Water Board (NRWB) spokesperson Edward Nyirenda said the board would soon embark on an exercise to replace covers on all vandalised manholes.
