The Mbabane Municipal Council has embarked on cleaning drainages ahead of Tropical Cyclone Eloise that is expected to hit the country between this Sunday and Tuesday.

In a brief statement that was issued on the Council’s Social Media Newsfeeds, the Council said cleaning the drainages will assist in alleviating flash flooding in the Central Business District (CBD).

“MCM has intensified drainage cleaning efforts ahead of Tropical Cyclone Eloise which is expected to hit Eswatini this weekend. The drainage cleaning will assist in alleviating flash flooding in the CBD”, read the statement.

Drainages that are currently being cleaned include those around Dr Sishayi Road, Mhlambanyatsi Road, The Mall and Swazi Plazza.

Meanwhile, a heavy storm that lasted about two hours in Mbabane last year brought the city to a standstill as some shops and roads within the Mbabane CBD were flooded.

However, Mbabane Municipal Council Information and Public Relations Officer Lucky Tsabedze told one of the county’s dailies that the Council is not to be blamed for the flash floods but instead the municipality needed E24 million to fix a problem that was not being caused by the structures that were being flooded.