MORE than 35 houses built on the banks of the Kafue River have collapsed in Kitwe's Ipusukilo Township after the river burst its banks following incessant rains on Monday night.

Kitwe City Council (KCC) public relations officer, Dorothy Sampa said the houses collapsed during the day after the water overflowed into the Kafue River.

Mrs Sampa said in an interview in Kitwe on Tuesday that council records show that the owners of the collapsed houses were the same people who were always refusing to move to Kawama area, which the council had serviced and was ready for occupation.

Mrs Sampa said the owners of the houses were fortunate that the houses collapsed during day time, saying if they had collapsed during night time, some lives could have been lost.

"Yes, I can confirm that more than 35 houses built on the banks of the Kafue River have collapsed after the bursting of the river banks following the heavy rains in the city.

"It is very unfortunate that some people have resolved to build their houses on the banks of the Kafue River and are refusing to move to Kawama area, which is serviced," Mrs Sampa said.

And Limaposa Ward Councillor Florence Soper has also said that an undisclosed number of houses in her ward had collapsed following the heavy rain in the area.

Mrs Soper said she had received reports that a number of houses had collapsed in her area, but was not told how many had been destroyed.

The councillor also bemoaned the deplorable state of Cedrics Road and appealed to relevant authorities to quickly rehabilitate the road and ease the transportation of both people and goods to and from the area.

She said the road was important because it was used by most of the farmers in Kitwe to take foodstuff to the market.

"I am now appealing to relevant authorities to consider rehabilitating this road because it is vital to the agricultural community in the area. They use it to transport their produce to the market," Mrs Soper said.

Meanwhile, Mrs Soper has urged people living on the banks of the Maposa stream to desist from indiscriminate cutting of trees because the stream may run dry.