President Mwanawasa has warned that any Zambian found subleting a market stall to foreigners will be imprisoned without the option of a fine.Dr. Mwanawasa said while governemt wants to empower Zambians with market spaces, some marketeers have been subletting these facilities.
He was speaking in an interview with journalists after touring the new Soweto market which is under contruction.
The president urged those to be allocated space in markets to guard the facilities jealously.
He also said he was impressed with the workmanship on the contruction process.
Dr. Mwanawasa said once completed the facility will be a state of the art and the best in the SADC region.
The construction work on the market is expected to be completed in July and ready for commissioning in September.
Meanwhile, President Mwanawasa has directed Secretary to the Cabinet Dr. Jushua Kanganja to ensure that all controlling officers spend government resources for their intended purpose saying failure to do so is misappropriation of public funds.
Dr. Mwanawasa said government makes allocations for payment of rentals, electricity and water bills for all institutions adding that there should be no explanation for non settlement of bills.
The President was responding to Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company chairperson Justin Chisulo, who appealed to government for assistance in settling the company’s outstanding debt in bills.
Dr. Mwanawasa has also disclosed that government will construct a new secondary school in Matero.
He said funds have already been allocated and tenders will be issued soon to pave way for the signing of a contract with a suitable contractor in August this year.
Dr. Mwanawasa has also announced that government has procured road making equipment worth $39.5 million for all districts in a bid to improve the road infrastructure in the country.
It is nonsense to suggest that you can imprison somebody for letting his or her stand to who ever one wants. That is market forces.
And yet you sublet Zambia!
Spot on #2! Isn’t it a crying shame that this goermnment of laws deems it fit to lease out our country to the Chinese and Indians to the extent that they can even go on strike and kill our people and then blatantly threaten its own people with imprisonment for trying to eke out a living! You *****s should all be shot at high noon!!
And just listen to this fool Mulongoti! Your turn to face the music is coming.
This is a good move by His excellency President Levi Mwanawasa.
#1 Ndiwe Zende.
It’s Zambian tax payers money that is building that market and not Indian or chinese so it is only fair that its only Zambian entrepreneurs only who should be allowed to trade in the Soweto market.
#2 really has a point there. The government is sitting in a glasshouse and now starts throwing stones.
Your Excellency President Levi Mwanawasa, you can certainly take an african out of the bush but believe me you, you’ll never take the bush out of an african.
I think the President has a point. If you analyse GDP by industry, you will see that Trade has the largest contribution to the total GDP and the bulk of the players in this industry are ordinary Zambian folk trying to make ends meet. We don’t have ‘controlling’ stakes in other major sectors like mining and construction, so it is only prudent that we do not ‘sell’ even the little remaining ’empowerment’ that we have to foreigners. Building markets is a way of empowering the numerous street traders in the country, who will in turn pay taxes to the local authorities. Right now, most of them complain about not getting ‘a piece of the pie’ when they do not even contribute to the national treasury
Levi the scary-legal- eagle- in -chief! get a life!
… the best in the SADC …? Hhehhehhehhe.
who is the owner of this site? i ‘m now getting suspicious of stories …
Well abuse of human rights by the person who is so suppose to safe guide these rights by venture of his professional back ground and being the head of the state. Discrimination by not being a zambian.Where are we going? Mr President you are out of reach. Is this the head of SADCC? If a Zambian is not in the position to have commodities to sell due to varoius reasons why not letting his/her stall?
There ain’t a problem with subletting the stall to someone it maybe be a foreigner or a not coz the main thing if tax is being paid.. someone may not be willing to pay the tax by him/herself so i think there is some sense to sublet the stall for joint payment of the required tax…and it doesn’t matter whether zambian or not on dat one mr prez i dont agree with ya…take a second think bout it matter fact you may take whatever it takes just think bout is and reverse what ya said… am out….
That market must be for zambians only lets not just critisize for the sake of critisizing.If you don’t have any constructive contributions please shut your beak.
Levy has no analytical skills. His mouth opens up and produces nonsense. He himself has let foreigners take charge of our God-given resources for nothing! Who is worthy more for a imprisonment – a guy who hands away billions in national resources or a guy who hands out a market stall for a loaf a bread to feed his starved kid?
Let me see your answer. If you say Levy must be locked up, then you have a working brain. If you say the poor guy, then you suffered a lobotomy under Chiluba.. your brain is not complete bwana.
I am with #16 here. This is just a case of opening one’s mouth before engaging one’s brain first. Subletting a market stall is not the biggest crime on earth. LCC would obviously not like it. You would get fined, but I don’t think it warrants imprisonment. Our president likes to threaten Zambians as though they were small children. By the sound of it, this market is a nice one and has cost a lot of money to build. To maintain it in a good and hygienic condition, the operator will need to charge enough for the stalls. This might exclude your average trader, but we must be realistic. Otherwise the market will be turned into a stinking fire hazard like most Zambian markets.
Some of you baffle me. When the Chinese took over Luburma market, you are the same people who cried foul, and complained about why they should come all the way from far, far away only to open up market stalls. Now y’all say it’s all good?
If people can sublet the stalls for K10m a month then the operator should increase the rental fees to a more realistic market driven rate. Inevitably it will be Indians and Chinese traders who will move in but that just reflects the fact that they are good at business and are hard workers. Even so, I think the majority of the traders will be Zambians. There are enough good Zambian traders who will be able to afford the rental. We should not discriminate on grounds of race only. It is unchristian. A well run market can be a major draw for tourists.
#18 Analyst. I think we need to stop targeting the Chinese or Indians just because of who they are. We must condemn those who abuse our hospitality, but it shows lack maturity when people target others because they are from a different tribe or race.
The game MUST be focused on PRODUCTION in the first instance. We hand over all our productive entities and expect our people to be smart at the market stalls!! This is nonsense, vodoo economics by economic hoodlums at statehouse.
50 years after independence and we cannot sit comfortable at a table discussing the quality of our manufactured goods from cobalt, emeralds, copper and Gold shows that we have imbeciles for leaders.
Have a nice weekend as farting goes on at state house!
You fellow Zambians are just dumb. do you think you can compete with indians or chinese? the president is only trying to be nice to you.
I think most of the contributors are missing the point. To sublet or not to sublet really lies in the contract between the owner of the market and the ‘stall owner’. Therefore the solution is to put a clause in the contract that only the individual in the contract can run the stall. In short if you can not run the stall then don’t get one. Let those who have the capacity to run the stalls get it and I am sure they will not be willing to sub let them.
#22 Zulu. So you are one of these Zambians who have been brain-washed into thinking that we are not capable of competing with Indians or Chinese? Wake up man. The president is just politicking. He knows what he is saying is rubbish – especially the bit about locking up people. #23 has the point. It is up to the operators of the Market to repossess stalls that have been sublet. On the point of law, you cannot exclude legally settled Indian and Chinese people. This market was actually built with European Union money and they might insist that it is run viably. They might also take a dim view of racial discrimination.
Mwe Mfumu [20], I hear you but I am looking at this issue in terms of empowering local people, it has nothing to do with racial or tribal profiling. We need to put in deliberate measures to empower our people. Like a few years back I went to the Egyptian embassy in Lusaka and the guy at the gate was Egyptian, the security guards were Egyptian. When I went to the Zambian embassy in Cairo, all the security guards were Egyptians! There are certain skills which we do not need to import, so that the locals can put food on their table, we should not disadvantage them. Clauses in contracts [23] may help.
Our president is right.Dont sublet the stalls to foreigners but to Zambians.
I think no.22 should be indian or chinese.This country belongs to black Zambians whether rich or poor. You big fool and an *****!!
#25 Ba Analyst, there is definitely an argument for empowering local people, but the point I am making is that it is time we raised our standards. Most market traders do not like paying for their stalls. The low level of rentals collected usually mean that the market even lacks usable toilets. Drains get blocked due to lack of maintenance. The result is the usual unhygienic conditions that have become the trade mark of Zambian markets. Also the low rental charges usually lead to a situation where the people allocating stalls maneuver themselves into very powerful positions to exploit ‘grateful’ applicants. In the end corrupt market officials are the winners.
Saying it so, doesn’t make so. Mwanawasa is blowing gas. If you he is suggesting is not in the agreement and contracts signed by those given those stalls, Levy will be infridging on people’s rights. No penal code for subletting stalls, no imprisonment at all. Either he puts up, or he shuts up. This is a guy who talks of laws. What kind of dictatorship is this? So, this guy Levy thinks Zambians can only be marketeers and not industrialists. What protect stalls and not protect other sectors of the economy? Utter Nonsense.
Good point #29! Mwanawasa does not care about the hardes of unemployed Zambian Engineers who have been replaced by foreigners. Instead he says he wants to protect market traders. It’s a joke, isn’t it?
My learned Zambians you must understand that all the president wants us to do is take care of our infrastructure following the governing laws that are in place for such an entity. Let’s not argue over this for the sake of it but fully understand what the expectations are once stalls are assigned for business operation. As some of you have pointed out (#s 17, 23, & 25), whether Zambian or not whoever is legally and legitimately assigned a stall for operation, must follow the contract stipulations. Those of you who are playing a race card must refrain from doing so because we are a multirace and multiculture society as at now. Keep away from insulting talk.
As regards this topic, the president’s threat reminds me of my parents who used to say “Nka kwipaya or Ni zakupaya” the next time you commit this offence. The next time I went wrong, I didn’t get killed but was punished differently. On the same token, the president cannot be a policeman and judge. All he has done is send a strong message to those that will be delegated to enforce operational guide lines that they should not be laxed or they will be severely dealt with. Similarly the renter must be aware that not following the established ground rules will render disciplinary action being taken.
#27 change your blogging name or just leave it blank and reamin anonymous
All of you Zambians abroad should just shut up. You dont know anything. You want us to keep on suffering while you eat KFC and Macdonalds. Just shut up, you dont know anything.
Since when did Lefi become Sata?
So you guys still want to trade on streets & complain that thr z no space in the markets wen u r giving the stall away.
Criticism is really addictive.LPM lock up the *****s
we dont need foreign direct investment in market stall trading please people levy is right.advise refrain from micro managing have a vision and look at the bigger picture.
Good idea Levy…show them you are serious about zambianisation!!
Gentlemen
The President is right let us learn to be patriotic and think of our fellow Zambians who are disadvantaged by the foreigners on the market.
UK is just doing the same on work permits. Do not just condemn because you are out there .One thing is true you surely come back in whatever way. Stop bakamba to #1,2and 3
What an ***** #34 is!!
Our version of free economy is flawed just like the brains of LPM.
How can we build a nation when the critical productive factors are out of reach of the vast majority of our people? How can we be glorifying the eocmonic policies now in place when the majority of our citizens are just bystanders due to absence of real finance?
# 34 stop being jealous.
We don’t need foreigners to have stalls at Soweto Market. It’s a good idea taken by our President not to give foreigners.Let Zambians enjoys their money.
Zimbabweans shud appreciate wat our president has done to that country. Chimanasa is very stupid how can he be insulting our president. Now all the Zimbabweans shud go back to their country because they have no respect.