LOCAL Government and Housing Minister Stephen Kampyongo has said he expect Chipata Municipal Council employees to follow the laid down procedures when handling street vendors after President Edgar Lungu had intervened in the matter.
He said yesterday that there was no need for the local authority to be inconsistent regarding the issue of street vendors.
Mr Kampyongo said that it was sad that council officers were busy chasing away street vendors instead of providing them with land where they could trade from.
“Following Presidential directive regarding the issue of street vendors I had a meeting with the council in which measures are suppose to be taken because you cannot treat the vendors in a barbaric manner,” he said.
The minister said street vendors were going through a number of difficulties in which they should be treated like human beings.
On Tuesday at Luangwa Lodge in Chipata when he addressed PF officials, President Lungu warned council and civil servants not to undermine his Government because he would flush them out.
The Head of State said he was disturbed with reports that Chipata Municipal Council officials were treating street vendors like criminals in the border town.
He said street vendors were not criminals which could warrant the local authorities to start treating them like criminals even burning their trading places and merchandise.
He warned that whoever undermined his Government would be flushed out from the office without any restraint.
President Lungu had since ordered Mr Kampyongo to do something regarding the council
Mr Kampyongo has also indicated that there was a process to be followed by his ministry for it to grant a town a city to any town.
He said once the process was followed, the ministry recommends to the Head of State to declare it a city.
Here we go again. Wanting more votes and the president is legalising street vending like Sata did. This move will not save you.
Comment: It will save us.
When Sata was Governor for Lusaka, under President Kaunda, he managed to keep Lusaka clean. There was no street Vending in Lusaka. Things changed under Chiluba and now street vending has been accepted as normal. Lusaka CBD is now so dirty compared to other capital cities in the region. While its right for Govt to feel pity for the Vendors (for Political Mileage), Councils must establish places to do vending (these should have sanitation as well). Street vending must be controlled to avoid opportunistic outbreaks like cholera, etc.
Lungu so desperate for votes and so leegalizing wrong. sorry too late.
Lungu so desperate for votes and so legalizing wrong. Sorry it is too late sir, you are destined for dustbin on 11 August, 2016.
kampyongo so desperate for your party to go through that you are dancing to the tune of street vendors. granted everyone needs to survive but have you thought about cholera breaking out? imagine if that happened, how are you going to contain it with our meagre medicines in the country right now. you pf ministers will agree to all the wrong things just to stay in power regardless of common sense. you people have no morals or love for the people of Zambia. you think of yourselves and your positions with fat salaries and allowances. Do you people ever ask yourselves why we want to vote you out? IT IS BECAUSE THE PF PARTY HAS LET US DOWN AND TAKEN WRONGS AS RIGHTS AND DESTROYED A ONCE PEACEFUL AND STABLE COUNTRY.
Yes under sata the town was clean . But there where too March criminals in streets and communities