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State police to be used to get rid of vendors

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The Lusaka City Council (LCC) has engaged the Ministry of Home Affairs to provide State Police to help the council get rid of vendors.

LCC Public Relations Manager Chanda Makanta told ZANIS that State Police are required to rid Lusaka streets of vendors as council police were inadequate.

Mrs. Makanta said cases of cholera being recorded in some parts of the country have compelled the local authority to act.

She said the threat of cholera is growing in the country largely due to vendors who are not observing any sanitary standards.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Makanta has appealed to the shop owners not to allow street vendors to sell on their shop corridors.

She said the trend was encouraging vendors to leave designated trading places to sell on the streets.

Mrs. Makanta further said called on general public refrain from buying from vendors, particularly in light of Cholera.

She pointed out that vendors were taking away business from traders who are in designated market.

editor
editorhttp://www.lusakatimes.com

101 COMMENTS

  4. This street vending story has always been the same ever since Chiluba came with them from Ndola in 1991 and after the Gabon Disaster funeral. Its actually a seasonal problems now whenever the rains set in you will hear this Makanta woman yapping…its all RUBBISH.

  7. What wrong have the vendors done to this lady kanshi mwe bantu? If they bring cholera then it’s themselves to die first. Some comedy from this lady again.

  11. street vendors are only leaving up to their name “street vending”. However, due to the world credit crunch, they have decided to diversify in order to reach the HIPC completion point. in order to do that IMF and world bank have suggested that
    1. they should start pick pocketing as it is tax free.
    2. start throwing litter arond as it improves soil fertility.
    3. they should be crowded in city squqres to reduce bio-gas emissions and reduce global warming.
    4. start smoking bostic glu to desist from buying unecessary, and usually expensive heating equipment.
    Bravo, govt. is now slowly moving away from donor firms by totally going against the above policies.Go go! Lupiya Obanda.

  15. #11 iwe unza mojo, street vendors arent as bad as u are depicting them. they usually sell stuff cheaply, and a wise person just has to clean the food before eating, and that will be just like food in supermarkets. The vendors should be given an alternative then!!!! 😕

  16. The Police Officers are not well paid, as a result balifulwa kale.
    End result kula shooterfye……. God help mother Zambia.

  17. anywayz you people you got to understand that Obanda simply wants to gear up for 2011 by removing the PF cadres from the street. the street vendors are busy waiting for “more money in their pockets”. However, Obanda is willing to give them more “boots to their asses”

  18. # 4 Bo Ndate Mukelabai, its true that vending came with Chiluba in 1991 buts its not seasonal. The current problem originates with the death of LPM. Until just before the just ended elections, there were no venders on such streets of Lusaka Chachacha Road, Lumumba Road and freedom way. After the death of LPM and when it became evident that elections were coming, venders saw an opportunity to do their business knowing that none of the three aspiring candidates would advocate their removal from the streets and still win the elections.

    King Cobra normally supports street vending. Knowing this, RB was very afraid to remove the venders from the streets coz the cobra would have gained alot

  19. King Cobra normally supports street vending. Knowing this, RB was very afraid to remove the venders from the streets coz the cobra would have gained alot political mileage from this. Even now, it remains to be seen whether RB would openly condemn street vending. It will also be very innteresting to wait and see King Cobra’s stance.

  21. Like I said b4 even though you didn’t show my posting ba LT, ala this is not news at all. the council has always been using ba kamalonda to rid the streets of vendors.

  22. number 15, pa nsaka
    i hope its not the street vendors catering at your insaka.Street vendors usually sell substandard goods. No wonder they are in the streets trying to lure people. yes, u might have a point, but the disadvantages outweigh their usefulness in society. if they were really serious business minded people, there are designated places where they can sell their products.Street vendors usually are the culprits when it comes to selling pirated products. they should be put in well defined places where their standards of products can be checked.

  23. Today’s Post: PF peaceful demos to go ahead – Sata

    Reacting to defence minister George Mpombo’s threats that Zambia’s well trained army will crush the demonstrations countrywide, Sata respnoded: “Can Mr. Mpombo tell me how that efficient and well-trained army has failed to conquer rats in hospitals which are eating lips and noses of children?” Sata asked. “They have failed to conquer rats which are not armed, defenceless rats moving at will. Today if we decide to demonstrate there is nothing George Mpombo could do to us.”

  26. #22 unza mojo, i think it depends on which vendors you are talking about, coz somehow theres a difference between kabova and genuine vendor. Those selling plastic bags,CDs…are usually cons. But those selling tute esp at kabwata, they arent that bad!! some vendors are quite needed :d

  27. unza mojo,
    point of correction.the shops yaba mwenye sale fake products ,shoprite is known for expired goods.lets just correct the wrong dont give invalid reasons.who wants to go to the crowded markets?how many buy veg from supermarkets pa Zed?get real

  28. Kicking these people of streets is not the solution.these people have got nowhere to go to make a living. Some of these vendors look after aids orphans from the income they earn from streets.The govn’t does’t help financially.they get no help from nobody to feed their families. The council should introduce a form of tax to tax the vendors and use that revenue to cleaning their surrounding instead of kicking them out of streets.

  32. If people stopped buying from street vendors, they will stop the trade. Period.

    Start penalising those who buy and the business will go back to designated market places.

    It’s like red light areas, the poor women in the trade cannot be stopped if men who plough the route are at large. When you threaten to take photos of such men and post them to their wives, the men behave. So start by penalising the buyers.

  35. #32(UK-Zed Observer), what kind of thinking is that? Penalising the buyers? A market is about WILLING sellers and WILLING buyers coming together but if for instance, a beer seller goes to sell his/her beer at a school and school kids buy it who is wrong there?

  36. (Continued from 35)My point is: who is the perpetrator of a problem in the case of street vendors and street buyers?

  39. This is crazy. We cannot be a nation of traders and be satisfied with it. Show me one developed country that has allowed street vendors to overun their cities like we have. To have as many street vendors as we have right now is a MAJOR public health hazard. The conditions are unsanitary, they conribute to the environmental pollution, and they provide a safe haven for theives masquerading as vendors. Street vendors need to be removed and designated markets. People will go where the products are sold. If traders are at markets, that is where the people will go to purchase those cheap items. The LCC has failed in its responsibility, which includes ensuring that there is order and safety.

  42. state police used for what???????Giving vendors the money they are trying to make out there?Think before you talk,they are there cos they want to make a living from there 😕

  44. Vending is everywhere but not with such impunity! Look at the seller…dirty, knicker ilefuka ne chushi ku fiko. Awe mwee! :-b
    #38 you are right, it’s clearly written “store in a cool, dry place”.:(|)

  45. I thought there would be some intelligent enough (in the govt) to create a place to send the vendors… otherwise they will go back to street. If you can’t eat your are better off risking your life trying to. If the does this without a place create a place for these… the country could see an increase in crime. Two issues need to be sorted out the attitudes (people should stop buying from street vendors) and a new place for the vendors to go. Am sure if there is an alternative most of them will stay away from the streets. These people are ordinary Zambians just like you, trying to earn a living.

  46. People must appreciate council bye laws and uphold personal hygiene. No wonder there is this proliferation of shanties and a culture substandard norms.

    Health and basic sanitation begins with personal responsibillity. I cant believe the culture developing in towns. The villages are certainly cleaner and more hygienic.

  48. why does this topic come about coz ever since i was quite young i think kuma 7yrs they wud chase them then they wud come back and then after a few yrs again and again awe ba council let them be or do they enjoy playing cops and robbers all the time…..
    baby c and pa nsaka this aint a chat show, go do yo wahala in city market

  50. supergal,
    lets not qualify somnething through twisting this and that. What do you call those people whole sell rejects outside mandahill, those who sell boiled maize cooked weeks before? or those who sell cibwawa picked from some nearby sewage? Fact is that, street vendors can not compete with genuine marketeers at the markets. they tend to take their substandard merchandise to the streets in the name of convenience. and as an educated person you sound to be,correct me if am wrong, you ought to see beyond that.

  51. what’s happening kwacha?
    we are next zimbabwe.
    $1-K5050
    hey ba finkala baonaula icalo aba!!
    Ba RB u’ve no leadership to offer in this poor country
    within 1 month kwacha has depriciated more than k1400
    Even if world is in crisis tht too much chi kulo puno chi RB.

  52. what’s happening with kwacha?
    we are next zimbabwe.
    $1-K5050
    hey ba finkala baonaula icalo aba!!
    Ba RB u’ve no leadership to offer in this poor country
    within 1 month kwacha has depriciated more than k1400
    Even if we are in crisis tht too much chi kulo puno chi RB.

  54. #49 The solution is not then to let them sell their merchandize on the streets. The problem is partly because of rural-urban migration.

    People leave the rural areas in search of a ‘better living’ condition in town. The jobs are not just there and this causes people to engage in all kinds of activities including street vending.

    You cant entirely blame them fordoing so but at the same time, laws must be obeyed. The reason why service delivery has gone down over the years is especially because of this rapid urbanisation process without a sustained job market to compensate it. The reasons for rural urban migration are clearly spelt out. The rural area is not ‘profitable’ place to dwell

  55. We have unnecessary or an ‘artificial congestion in town because of this rural urban migration. The cheapest way of sustaining a ‘living’ in town is to scrounge around. Meaning, you vend, put up simple shacks, you do all sorts of things. The compounded population growth results in a general substandard lifestyle for the majority of town dwellers.

    The solutions lies in making the rural areas attractive and profitable. The first way of doing so is by affording an opportunity for those had working subsistence rural farmers get their deserved return on their produce. Maize can not continue to be subsidised to the detriment of the poor farmer.

  56. Anonymous I didn’t say we let these people sell in the streets but if there is no other place were do you expect them to go? They will eventually go back to the streets if they don’t have a place to sell. No matter how many times you chase them the will come back, a hungry person is a desperate person, they will do anything to put food on the table. If people can stop buying from them that would help as well.

  59. u guys have respect for the venders…..what we need is a solution. Not insults. We know life pa ZEd is tough as jobs are few. So tweseka amavender but lets find a solution. vending in town center is not good as we all hate it. But just have some respect heey. :d/:d/

  61. The most urgent issue is that it would be very helpful to sustain the kind of effort that is coming from the rural farmer. The rural farmer has been able to produce the bulk of our consumption in terms of maize than at any other time in our history. It is just becoming profitable to engage in subsistence farming. This is a tremendous achievement.

    It would be atrocious to say the least if at this stage the hard working farmer is penalised with a continued subsidised price of maize. PF is saying our maize is too expensive! You see if you are able to see my point, the solution lies in diversyfication through our most available resource, land.

  62. Ba R#52.you have really disapointed me.you had a very good point,but you have spoiled it with your insults.I don’t like pipo who insult.May the Good Lord deliver you.with christ Love Matworld

  63. Making farming attractive is a very good ideal… with the high global food prices it can benefit both the farmers and the country. But our leaders are disappointing more than anything. Rural urbanization is that what you are suggesting anonymous?

  64. The call by PF to reduce mealie meal prices may seem good on the surface but will ultimately harm the same people who are calling for these reductions.

    Jobs can be created in the rural areas if the business of farming in rural areas becomes profitable. To call for reduction of maize prices is to kill the business of the peasant farmer. If that happens, the status quo remains in towns.

  66. Minister

    When farmers in rural areas begin to enjoy the benefit of their toil, the urban dweller scrounging in town will think twice abouit remaining in town! Most people in Zambia have sufficient farming land. They dont use their land because it seems just a waste of time and it is indeed a waste of time looking at the returns.

    The same pull that draws people to town will drive them to rural areas if the rural areas become a profitable place to do business.

  67. #65 Yusuf Patel

    Zambia could be the next ‘bread basket’ as was Zimbabwe before the madness of Mugabe. The only current hurdle is the lack of perception and co-operation on the part of the opposition coupled with the general reluctance by the general population to see that farming is our most available alternative to job creation.

    I nthe absense of alternative industries in town, farming is the only large scale employer.

  70. Am sure Yusuf wouldn’t mind a 50grand for a gum! I don’t think Zambia is heading that way. Maybe RB is having a slow start.

  71. #65. iwe Patel whats nice about Zambia being the next to Zimbabwe? If you are Zambian shame on you. RB is still learning how to walk, Soon things will be ok. Have faith that things will pan out well. As for the street vendors, Teta should instruct someone to allocate stores for them in other markets in the capital otherwise my mother will lose some income.

  72. The electrification of rural areas will be a huge bonus to everyone. This will help increase the farmer out put as well as help to reduce the market price of his products. That is the most reasonable way of reduce farm produce prices. Also making the farmers transportation costs will help shade off the ultimate market price of his product. To call for price reductions without looking at the farmers input costs is simply retrogressive. SATA must be aware of this but chooses to ignore.

  74. I am in two minds about the vendors.For one, they are only trying to make some money and survive in a harsh environment, but on the other hand, hygiene issues are a major problem, not only for the foodstuffs they sell, but also for the city itself. LCC have been useless in tackling this problem.
    Just look at Kamwala! there are no bins anywhere in town. Even though those women sweep, they just make a pile of rubbish which will be re-distributed and be swept again the next day. We have no proper sanitation policy. We haven’t even sorted out proper drainage systems for the roads, yet people know come rainy season we have serious sanitation issues every year.

  75. brothers street vending is every where in the world. those living in america uk know what am talking about. all the the council is saying it does not need any more revenue. these vendors are good for the council. what the council needs to do is first to milk the income from these guys then use the money to find descent ways ofimproving their vending. the problem is banadiya mihalf which they collect and never prepared or the eventuality. since these people pay where has their money gone. that you are chasing them. what measures have u put in place as developed countries do by closing certain roads or giving them days to operate. Makanta do not increase mavuto look at what’s in Greece now

  76. “The Lusaka City Council (LCC) has engaged the Ministry of Home Affairs to provide State Police to help the council get rid of vendors.”

    I like this one. The street vendors have gone too far. Please, clear up all they are doing soonest.

  77. # 23 good stuff,
    where will they go?
    there aint no jobs
    the mines arent our anymore
    the land has been given to the zimbabwean white farmers.
    Thanks MMD

  88. 79. Rogue Trader greetings and consider the following:

    “Commotion erupted at Lusaka’s city market when a combined team of Lusaka City Council and state police used tear gas to disperse vendors trading at the containers.”

    Source: ww w. muvitv . com/ news/ Dec2008/ 9thcnews2 . html

  89. “A MUVI TV NEWS crew which rushed tom the scene found the affected traders recovering from the tear gas fumes.
    In random interviews, the angry vendors claimed that the local authority had given them an ultimatum of up top January to relocate from the streets

    They expressed surprise over the move by the Lusaka City Council to remove them before the new Soweto market is complete.”

  90. “Council Public Relations Manager Chanda Makanta told ZANIS that State Police are required to rid Lusaka streets of vendors as council police are inadequate.

    Mrs. Makanta said cases of cholera being recorded in some parts of the country have compelled the local authority to act.

    She said the threat of cholera is growing in the country largely due to vendors who are not observing any sanitary standards.”

  91. “Meanwhile, Mrs. Makanta has appealed to the shop owners not to allow street vendors to sell on their shop corridors.

    She said the trend is encouraging vendors to leave designated trading places to sell on the streets.”

    ……………………………………..

    Great job LCC and take care. We need sanity in Zambia.

  92. #88-91. Maestro Hhehhehhehhe Greetings to you and thanks for the info.

    Its all well and good that Lusaka City Council are tackling the issue of street vending. As you rightly put it, we need sanity in Zambia. However, the manner in which such actions are enforced should be above board in order to be deemed fair. The council should have kept its word by giving the vendors up to January to relocate.

    My main concern is that vendors are removed from the streets every so often only for them to resurface within a few months. Its a cycle that has been repeated since 1992 when Michael Sata was minister of Local Government and Housing. Is there no lasting solution to this problem?

  93. Sanity was put on the corridors of town centre of major cities. when the first vendor appered why did the local authority not act then??
    Why did they allow the situation to de-generate so bad whilst they watched???
    Lets fire and impeach all town clerks.The council are in shambles in this country. In botswana and many countries to work for the council is better than in private companies. they work and take care of you. here, it’s like its a job for the very lazy.really extremely lazy pipo. As usual we just watch no action.

  97. I think some of these store owners (the ones on cairo road) just get some boys to sell their wares outside since they are failing to attract customers inside the shops.

  98. When they chase the vendors the police will confiscate their merchandise and take it into their homes. This is just another Xmas reward to the police as they do not get a Xmas bonus!

  99. “Immediately I knock off, I will go straight to City Market to buy cibwabwa, impwa tuute elyo natupopo bwali” (:|(:|(:|(:|(:|(:|(:|(:|(:|(:|

  100. POLITRICKS has contributed to the massive exodus of the street vendors to Lusaka.Most of them were Chilubas people who moved to lusaka after the decentegration of Ndola.I remember in 1998 there was no street in lusaka and the state house had a special ministry vendors desk.THE Roles of this ministry was to bring vendors from un named somewhere to the streets of lusaka.THEREFORE,it will be unfair to move them by police force unless if RB wants to bring his own pipo after realising that nyanjas has vanished in lusaka

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