President Rupiah Banda's tour and visit of flood hit victims yesterday in Lusaka underscores the urgency the Government attaches to the problem particularly in the capital city where displaced families have been relocated to an area near the Independence Stadium.

The Government has set aside K11 billion to tackle the problem, a feat that is certainly aimed at alleviating the suffering of the affected families.

Hopefully, the money would also be used in the improvement of the drainage system as well as repairing the damaged infrastructure.

The president has already indicated that a decision would be made on how the allocated funds would be used to address the problem of perennial floods in the city.

The floods have continued ravaging property and vegetation resulting in the displacement of families in the country and beyond the borders.

This natural calamity has not spared infrastructure such as roads and bridges, cutting off certain areas.

The Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) has thus been on alert, relocating families and providing basic necessities with the help of other organisations such as the Zambia Red Cross Society.

Normal life in many areas has been disrupted as movement of people from one place to the other has been made impossible because some roads have become impassable while bridges have been washed away.

School children have had to stop attending lessons because infrastructure has been damaged or bridges on roads leading to institutions have been washed away.

Life for the affected people has just become unbearable.

Floods are a natural disaster and are very difficult to address as the water levels have risen to high levels such that even with a good drainage system, the problem could still have been experienced.

As the president indicated, the opposition should also supplement the Government's effort by giving suggestion on how best the problem could be tackled instead of apportioning blame.

The opposition parties should not take joy in the calamity because it is not only for the Government to address the problem, but all Zambians. In any case, the floods are not only affecting people belonging to a particular political grouping.

Our appeal to the people, particularly the affected families, is to cooperate with those working on the drainage system and other infrastructure as well as those providing necessities such as tents and disinfectants.

People in temporary shelters should observe high standards of hygiene while the Government plays the role of a facilitator.