Former Bweengwa Parliamentarian Highvie Hamududu is imploring the Patriotic Front (PF) Government to find a suitable approach to address street vending in Zambia.
Hamududu said the explosion of street vending is a result of the failed non-inclusive and sketchy capitalism spearheaded by the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) government which left countless of Zambians in limbo after Parastatals were privatized culminating in job loses.
He said the 1990s liberalization of the market and the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) boosted the economy without development as the development was only driven by few Zambians who connections to the MMD.
Hamududu added that during the reign of the MMD under Second Republican President Frederick Chiluba Zambia’s economic growth was drifting, cruel, redundant and futureless.
He said there are many innovative approaches which might be used to progress the informal sector into thriving Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs).
“Let’s all first commit ourselves to National Unity by removing political acrimony from among ourselves”
“I see bright people in all major political parties, be it in MMD, PF or UPND, but no unity of purpose across the artificial political divide”
“As Zambians we must first define and commit ourselves to a shared national vision above our party agendas” Mr. Hamududu said
As Citizens, we’re alive to the fact that economic liberalization program in Zambia has been a disaster. It was dangerously mismanaged and has been exploited by a few marauders to the detriment of a common man left hopeless. We over-zealously fell for capitalism with zero credible macro or microeconomics frameworks in place. Now we have a rare opportunity to correct the crisis if we can bury our differences first. Let’s reset our destiny. The future is neither in the Chinese appetite nor in Western aid, but in building an economy that can show a multi-faceted socioeconomic progress ASAP. Any good winning option need not overlook development in GDP,literacy level, employment, aggressive anti draft fight, and life expectancy of our country in multiple ways.
I mean we need to push an aggressive “anti graft” drive. We cannot afford to overlook the urgency of addressing causes of socio-economies woes in Zambians now becoming perennial. Poverty creates anxiety and susceptibility of curving in to chaos. It can be a recipe for socialist revolution God forbid. Had we managed well our economic liberalization program with integrity and patriotism, we could have landed into the poverty citizens are in today. Time to get to work united as one people towards common good. May a growing culture culture of political acrimony or attrition at the expense of national development rest in peace this year.
Way to go Mr Highvie Hamududu.
Well Mukwabo know that privatization was a scam of corterie of thieves who took it as a life time window to tear down the country and share the spoil. No different to Russian Oligach. Yes had there been integrity and good faith, could be better today. Ask HH, late Penza, Chiluba, Valentine Chitalu, Foustine Kabwe and Eric Silwamba how they helped themselves in rampaging national assets.
Badala.. Your HH. is tinted with asset disposal corruption with Valentine Chitalu for inside trading and selling assets eg intercontinental hotels to themselves and their cronies… Clever thieves
I have a problem with our definition of national unity which is blind loyalty to the ’emperor’ even when he’s drowning in his own sh!t.
the cities and towns are taking the right and only appropriate measure, which is to remove the traders from the streets. this should not be debatable. The traders have markets to trade from. This talk of finding the right way to address this issues is merely clouding a clear issue and wasting time. the traders will adjust. shoppers will follow them where they go.
I DON’T MEAN TO BE HEARTLESS BUT TRUTH MUST BE TOLD. THESE VENDORS HAVE ALTERNATIVE TRADING SPACE BUT JUST WANT TO BE IN THE STREETS. THEY HAVE ALWAYS SAID THEY NEED TO BE NEAR THEIR CUSTOMERS. IF PEOPLE CAN GO TO LIBALA FOR TUESDAY MARKET, THATS A CLEAR INDICATION THAT THEY CAN GO ANYWHERE. WE GO AS FAR WAS MWANAMAINDA TO BUY BEEF, WE GO AS FAR AS KANAKANTAPA TO BUY VEGETABLES HENCE, THE EXCUSE OF DISTANCE IS NOT VALID. SIMPLEST & CHEAPEST WAY IS TO REMOVE THE VENDORS BY FORCE. THIS SHOULD ALSO INCLUDE CAR DEALERS IN TOWN WHO SHOULD BE ALLOCATED SOME COMMON PLACE OUT OF TOWN
Solutions? It’s there …just simply move to markets and we will still buy from you. It’s not like there’s cheap money lying on the streets to be picked up.
So what solutions did you come up with in Bwengwa when you were MP?
silly question
I once recall Chitala saying Chiluba’s idea of a liberalised economy is a kanthemba here and there! You know, the clearest signs of a sick economy is the proliferation of an informal sector within the general economy. Clearing these people from the streets without coming up with a solution to create jobs for them is being intellectually silly. It’s like fighting the symptom of a disease as opposed to zeroing on the cause. It’s like Sata, globe trotting to find a cure for multiple organ failure induced by HIV as opposed to just cozying back at home waiting for the train to hell! Why did he have to go die in the UK when he could have just gone kwa naBwalya to let his soul be release among nyama zinzake zi maMnwacusa? Kupusa ngako muBisa uja!
@5 your pathetic father died of kaswende ,syphilis and slow punctured bucolour, you dont tell us about it. soon you will follow your pathetic father. what did ba SATA do to you for you to have such demonic hatred for him.
admitt it, the man had more successful life than ama tallay yobe chimbwi iwe take your stinking a.s.s. to your pathetic father.
Hamududu speaks a lot of sense and unity is always one of his voice. I suspect that is why UPND did not want to adopt him. Every time Hamududu says something, even when he is criticizing he also offers a solution and that goes to tell you the national character that Hamududu has. Alas our political scene does not champion for national characters but specifically party character. It’s a tragedy. Steet Vending is everywhere yes! But it is were planned and managed with specific streets allocated for street vending. It is not done in all the streets in a city and I am sure that is the approach taken by Kangombe. Go anywhere in the world you will find street vendors but there are specific streets alloted for such business. You can’t find street vending in N1 Highway in South Africa
The need for economic diversification can not be over over emphasized. In agriculture, tourism and manufacturing, there is potential for job creation with market driven private sector investments. Demonizing FTC will not help because FTC was a product of a failed socialist project. The socialist project collapsed under pressure from low copper prices, high fuel prices and donor fatigue. Shortages of basic commodities and low purchasing power resonated well with liberalization and restructuring. It is better to establish a PPP secretariat, strengthen investment bodies, educate trade unions, consult employers federation, hold indabas to stabilize governance, etc than to talk about the ills of a failed market project.
Ilyashi likaaya. Stop talking about the past that time is gone and wasted. Talk about things which we have the power to change. Chiluba, mwanawasa, lupiya or sata are unique persons who did what they thought was needed to be done during their tenure so stop yapping. Now we have mr lungu let us push him to work bcoz is there and listening to our concerns. Priority number 1 is job creation, good wages, good health facilities, education, good road infrastructure and so on….
Trading in the CBD pavements leaving shoppers with a small line to walk is unacceptable. The need to sell by our people is understandable but the manner is chocking the inner city leaving it with dirt and smelling urine in CBD.
This problem is not only in Zambia as some bloggers are inferring, its in all African cities. Thousands if youths with no jobs and loss if jobs caused by liberalization. Cheap Pakistani textile imports as opposed to producing them locally. We must therefore rethink over what we can produce at cost effective prices,I guess this is what Trump was talking about during his inaugural speech,weather protectionism and high locally produced prices is the answer it remains to be seen.
Hamududu was a mp and he was quite no any idea of development now what is he looking for? Politics is a dirty game.ask him what he has done in his period of being an mp nothing, what a stupid idear is he bringing or what is he up to now? He wants to form his party.