A COMBINED team of State Police and Council Police from Livingstone City Council yesterday swung into action and chased street vendors who had resumed trading along Mosi-oa-tunya Road in the tourist capital.
Some vendors, who were removed from the streets of Livingstone to promote cleanliness in the tourist capital ahead of the 2013 United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly, had earlier resumed trading on the streets.
They refused to vacant the streets claiming that it was a jubilee gift for them to resume their illegal activities and that they would only leave the streets after receiving instructions from President Edgar Lungu.
But a combined team of State Police and Council Police yesterday chased all the vendors from Mosi-oa-tunya Street.
A Times of Zambia crew found both State and Council Police patrolling the streets while chasing the vendors.
Livingstone City Public Relations Manager Emmanuel Sikanyika thanked the State Police for helping the local authority to maintain law and order in the tourist capital.
Mr Sikanyika said following the ushering in of the new Government, some street vendors were trying to break the law with impunity by leaving their respective shops to start trading on the streets.
He said it was unacceptable that some shop owners were also off-loading their products for sale on the same street.
“The council is there to implement Government programmes and we won’t allow vendors and business houses to reverse all cleanliness gains we recorded in the city.
“Livingstone is a tourist capital and we want to make the city attractive to tourists and other visitors,” he said.
Mr Sikanyika said the State Police and Council Police would not relent in dealing with law breakers saying there would be no sacred cows in the crusade.
Lately, Livingstone has received accolades locally and abroad for maintaining high cleanliness standards especially after hosting the UNWTO General Assembly in 2013.
Pls chase these thugs away. We need order in the Tourist Capital.
Keep it up HH promised they could trade on the streets not with ebola lurking get off the streets go into the markets….
Hmmmmm; selective application of the law? Is Livingstone a Federal State? Why is this not being implemented in other cities and towns in Zambia. Broken promises already?
Good. Keep it up. This is good law and order. This should also be done in Lusaka and Copperbelt towns. If the illegal street vending in Lusaka and CB towns is allowed to continue, then we will conclude that Livingstone street vendors are being harassed for not voting for PF. Actually for the time being I am inclined to think this action is meant to punish those who opted to give HH the vote. You can say whatever you want but the countrywide general harassment of those suspected not to have voted for PF is testimony to this. That coffin and dog thing done in the presence of President Lungu during his inauguration was an abomination never witnessed before in Zambia and has continued to haunt some of us. It was not done in 1990, 2001, 2006, 2008 and 2011.
Spot on! If street vending is perceived to be a threat to public health in l/stone, its so very true in any other town where it exists! So flush everybody out of the streets in Lsk, CB en Solwezi if the argument is genuine in stone! Al be watching!!!!!!
But then find alternatives for these people, don’t just chase them away, calm them with realistic alternatives which will benefit them and the governments plans…
Bravo to Livingstone City Council and ZP. Continue to keep those vendors off the streets of Livingstone for the sake of cleanliness and sanity. Livingstone is the only Zambian town that looks normal the rest look like their administrators went to sleep fifty years ago. No wonder cholera hits them hard every rain season.
We look clean and we shall support you the Local Authority, all the best
from your friends in Livingstone 2015
Good movie. Clean these cities
Livingstone is a mavel
This is great and a good way for the country to generate revenue by having everyone pay taxes. Those people who sell food with no water to wash their hands and a lack of proper sanitation is what makes people ill. Make it mandatory that anyone who wants to get into the trading and selling business go to one area that is licensed for those activities and get a permit whether it be for a day, week, bi-weekly, monthly, bi-annual or annually. We need clean streets especially when it comes to attracting tourists. Lusaka is a sad story with people hassling drivers on the streets with clothes and everything they can sell. People are outside people’s shops with their own things blocking or taking away business. Its not right nor fair that others pay rent. This is a very good move! Bravo!!