cleanliness in the city
RELOCATED street vendors in Livingstone are happy conducting business at their new trading location at the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Green Market.
On May 10 this year, vendors who were operating in the corridors of the Mosi-oa-Tunya road in Livingstone were relocated to Green Market and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Market.
The exercise, which was spearheaded by Tourism and Arts Minister Sylvia Masebo, was aimed at promoting cleanliness in the city ahead of the August 2013 United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly.
Southern Region United Vendors Foundation (SRUVF) secretary Patrick Mubanga said the vendors were happy that their businesses were currently going on smoothly at their new trading premises.
Speaking in Livingstone in an interview yesterday, Mr Mubanga said the relocation of vendors was a move in the right direction as the town centre was currently clean and attractive to visitors.
“Vendors are happy that they now have a permanent trading place with stands at the green market and they do not have to run away from the council and police.
Most of the traders have expanded their businesses due to sufficient trading space and we are therefore requesting for government to assist the traders with funds because they now have graduated to small and Medium Business Entrepreneurs, (SMEs)” Mubanga said.
Mr Mubanga was glad that Livingstone area Member of Parliament Lawrence Evans had pledged to build an ablution block for vendors and traders operating at COMESA market.
He appealed to those who were still doing business in hidden corners of town to come forward and acquire trading space as the new site would accommodate 200 stands.
And Green market chairlady Edith Chibala, who is also happy on the relocation of vendors, asked the Livingstone City Council to install electricity at the new market.
“We are kindly asking the council to consider installing electricity at this facility as soon as possible.
We sometimes leave this place around 19hrs and visibility becomes a problem because we have to use candles and other modes of lighting,” Ms Chibala said.
And Livingstone City Council acting Public Relations manager Emmanuel Sikanyika said that the council was already engaged in talks with ZESCO on how and when the Green market would be electrified.
“We are still discussing with ZESCO as to how we can install electricity at Market,” Mr Sikanyika said.
Its a “Green” market, use solar energy, does Zesco have green-energy?
Green market because people trade in long green grass and not beacase they use solar energy
Hydro power energy by Zesco is renewable energy thus green. Thank you.
See, its not hard to control street vending, its how its done. When people get used to doing things they are used to, its hard to change them. Simply find an alternative for them and they will get used to that too. In Lsk, the streets are messed and the govt thinks the solution is to leave them trading on the streets., this is wrong. SImply move the traders to another place possibly in their own neighbourhoods and see how quick they will adjust to their new setting. Our town would be clean again but as it is now, sorry maningi, its disgusting!!!
Good news for once! We need our streets clean. Let s now move on to the capital city which is an eye sore!
GOOD MOVE AND WELL-DONE. COUNCIL PLEASE GIVE THEM ALL THEY WANT ELECTRICITY WATER AND FEE PAYING TOILETS SO THAT THEY CAN BE CLEAN (USE TOILET WITH COIN SLOTS) MA NGWEE ARE BACK. LET LIVINGSTONE BE A SUCCESS STORY AND PILOT PROJECT, NEXT LUSAKA SHOULD FOLLOW AND REST OF THE COUNTRY. WE CAN NOT JUST HAVE STREET VENDORS ALL OVER THE STREETS. IT’S TIME WE STOPPED THE NONSENSE. KEEP ZAMBIA CLEAN ALLOCATE THE REAL STATE OF ART MARKETS FOR THE PEOPLE.
…”Most of the traders have expanded…. .due to sufficient trading space……they now have graduated to small and Medium Business Entrepreneurs, (SMEs)”….AM NOT SURE WHETHER TO BE SAD OR LAUGH!
Come and see my stand, my friend! Very soon I will be a multinational as I plan to open up more stands in neighbouring countries like Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
good new Silva Masebo let others emulate you
This is what Prof Nkandu Luo wanted to do then …! You must move to Lusaka and CB now, and urgently.
Prof. Nkandu Luo told us to clean the streets just like this, what did they do next? The made her minister of Knitting and Chiyanga. Good Livingstone people have always been classy and forward thinkers. Mange kumunzi Kwanga ku Lusaka ni ma riot when they are told to move to modern markets. Kaya mwe.
please come and now clean up LSK! The markets are smelling like a chimbuzi…