Fri, 30 Jun 2017 10:05:43 +0000
By KELVIN SIABANA
THE Green Party says it is concerned with the poor quality of building materials and firefighting skills in all cities across Zambia.
Green Party president Peter Sinkamba said it was high time that the National Construction Council (NCC) reconsidered the use of aluminium composite rain-screen cladding which was currently used in part to improve the appearance of buildings.
Mr Sinkamba said NCC should investigate aluminium composite rain-screen cladding used in Zambia to avert any fire disaster to the buildings.
He said the Grenfell Tower fire disaster in Britain, which swept through a 24-floor, 67-metre high tower block of flats in North Kensington, west London, resulting in at least 79 deaths and over 70 injuries on June 14, 2017, must be an eye- opener for Zambian construction authorities.
He said external cladding was cited as a possible cause of the rapid spread of the Grenfell Tower fire and experts said that the gap between the cladding and the insulation worked like a chimney to spread the fire.
“Green Party believes that Zambia lacks capability to quench such fires so the best way out is to take precautionary measures now instead of waiting for a fire disaster to occur,” Mr Sinkamba said.
Mr Sinkamba said the NCC should move in to test the susceptibility of the cladding to fires and possibly ban use of such materials, if found risky.
He said the Ministry of Justice, National Prosecution Authority, Energy Regulation Board head office and the refurbished Society House, were among several buildings in Lusaka and elsewhere in the country where aluminium composite rain-screen cladding has been used to improve the appearance of buildings.
