FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PF SADDENED BY LUSAKA CITY FIRES, CALLS FOR CALM
Lusaka, Zambia, 4th July 2017 – The governing Patriotic Front is deeply saddened following the fire that gutted Lusaka City Market and some unconfirmed reports of fires within the city. The PF Secretary General, Davis Mwila has called for calm from all that have been directly negatively affect by the inferno whose source and origin are yet to be established.
“The news of the gutting of City Market has been received with great distress by the PF. The importance of the Market can never be overstated as it serves many Zambians from all walks of life. We stand with the people that have lost property and hope that security agencies will act swiftly to investigate this matter. We are a Party for the poor and so we feel the pain of their loss. If it is sabotage, we demand for stiff sanctions and if it be an electric fault, still we ask for accountability from those tasked to manage the facility, ” said the visibly disappointed Mwila.
The Secretary General has further called for calm among the members of the public as various national security wings were on the matter to establish what caused the fire which has consumed goods worth millions of Kwachas.
“PF urges those that have lost property in the fires as well as the public to stay calm and avoid any unnecessary provocation from those whose mockery seeks to dilute the impact of this unfortunate event. Let us all cooperate with the various national security wings that are currently working around the clock to find out the origin of the blaze,” he added.
Mr Mwila was also quick to warn,” As the PF, we will not be distracted from our vision of meaningful development for all Zambians by a few sadistic elements that have nothing but terror and division to offer to a peace loving and united Zambia.”
Lusaka and the nation woke up to the sad news of a massive fire that destroyed City Market on the morning of Tuesday 4th July 2017. Both the Zambia Police and Fire Brigade have confirmed that there was an inferno at Lusaka City Market. The cause of the blaze is still unknown, amid fears that it could have been an act of arson.
As the investigation is being instituted we also ask for the way forward what will happened to the market?
Sadly, I note from the photos that there were a lot of fire hazards such as old photocopying machines and other electrical and electronic equipment. Such items should not have been allowed in an enclosed public area.
If someone did not behave fo.oli.shily in Mongu the country would not be experiencing all these tragidies.
A serious govt would immediately do an assessment for fire safety for all markets in the country. Unfortunately PF is not a serious govt. We have a history of fires at markets in winter months of June -July mostly due to mbaulas lit for warmth…..
Already contradicting with Amos Chanda Facebook message..
Waiting for direct insults and threats from
– Sunday Chanda
– Mumbi Phiri
– Kapyongo
While this fire is and other before are a TRAGEDY FOR OUR NATION, they are also a reflection of FAILURE ON THE GOVERNMENT AND PARTY IN POWER! HOW COME THEY HAVE FAILED TO ARREST AND PROSECUTE CULPRITS? HOW come they have FAILED TO FOIL some of these attacks and bring culprits to book? SECURITY and SAFETY is NOT just arresting suspects or those perceived to be political enemies, PREVENTING CRIMES SUCH AS THIS FROM HAPPENING IS EVEN FAR BETTER SECURITY!! It is SO DISAPPOINTING to have a MORIBUND SITUATION LIKE THIS IN A COUNTRY WHERE WE HAVE ALL THE CHANCES TO HAVE FULLY FUNCTIONING GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES!!
Maybe it was just a electric fire, we know people hot wire and steal electricity and thats how it started. who knows .
@2.1, Yes, IT COULD be an electrical fault BUT WHERE are the GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES TO ATTEND TO SUCH ISSUES? We have the entire council with a mayor, how can we have a COUNCIL THAT FAILS TO PUT OUT A FIRE THAT IS SAID TO HAVE STARTED IN A CORNER OF A BUILDING TILL IT ENGULFS THE ENTIRE LARGE AREA? That is the MORIBUND SITUATION I am talking about!!
If indeed as the the entire PF structures are insitunuating that the fire was started by UPND cadres and we know very well that all these markets are being run and guarded by their cadres and PF Police, where would a UPND cadre have gained access when the place is full of PF cadres and govenment PF Police officers. My conclusion is, its is PF themselves who are destroying themselves. Let them put their house in order.
After burning down their merchandise do you think any sane person will support upnd. ? Mutinta talked of volcano and we are seeing them erapting one after the other. Mukuni talked about the lightning striking and causing fire and it’s happening. Why on earth would one fail connect the fires with what these evil people predicted.
Chill mwaiche wandi and let the fire department do there own investigations, this is not times to point toes at each other waumfwa.
HH OVAL—If you saw them, provide proof to the police rather than speculating. Critical thinkers analyze issues. Is what you have said grounded in truth? You sound like a child because whatever you say has little basis for rational judgment. I beg you to go back to school to learn critical thinking so you can see things clearly rather than issuing statements without evidence.
The problem of filth, garbage, street vendors and all the confusion in Lusaka just got worse. This is the problem of putting characters in office who can’t deliver. What do these people do, Lusaka province minister, City Major and Local government minster??? If we had resolved some of those problems when we had the opportunity, today we will not dealing with a much tougher assignment after these fires. Expect more people to get to the streets to survive and you can’t blame them…
#Poor-leadership
A serious govt would immediately do an assessment for fire safety for all markets in the country. Unfortunately PF is not a serious govt. We have a history of fires at markets in winter months of June -July mostly due to mbaulas lit for warmth…..
Whoever is behind these acts could you for once stop this nonsense. How can you be so heartless and call yourselves human beings. Dont you have any conscious. Please stop targeting the common man and find another way of expressing whether your grievances or stupidity. May Jehovah himself visit the perpetrators of this heinous act and make them pay accordingly.
Amen
U CANT CAUSE PAIN TO WIN SYMPATHY
someone is causing pain according to you. my question, does your comment qualifies to be rational one, when the investigation resullt have not told us what caused the fire weather someone or someelse
GBM is taking UPND on a wrong path. Believe it or not, without GBM HH wouldnt have been i jail right now. All these happennings are not the way MAZOKA LEFT UPND !!!!
The level of illegal activities happening in our country such as burning markets, electrical poles are appalling and very disturbing. People without morals have teamed up to bring down our good infrastructure which we have always admired. The acts are surely retrogressive and uncalled for and therefore, wish to urge all well-meaning Zambians to be alert and report any seed of illegal activity perpetrated by unscrupulous people to the police or any relevant whistleblower available in our neighborhoods.
which good infrastructure have you admired exactly? The city market?
I have vowed to personally come up with a surveillance website which I will soon publish and a WhatsApp group which will act as a whistleblower on issues of suspicious activities around our environments. Issues received will seriously be followed in liaison with various arms of security in our country. An individual who somehow becomes aware of illegal activities taking place anywhere through witnessing the behavior or being told about it and reports to my site will be protected, rewarded and treated anonymously. Please join the group called GUARDSMARK PATROL for more insight by sending your private WhatsApp number. Let us all protect our country jealously.
This is what happens when people start calling themselves Christians for wrong reasons.
Fellow country men and women. What do I expect from a sa..ta..ni..st. The Manson is very happy seeing others suffer. What is he going to fix when he is behind o these fire. Amagedeon he talked about
DO YOU SURELY EXPECT THESE POOR FAMILIES TO WHOLE-HEARTEDLY VOTE FOR UPND? KWASILA, BA UPND MWAITAYA.THIS IS JUST A PASSING PHASE. THE POOR SOULS YOU HAVE TORMENTED WILL STILL RISE FROM THOSE ASHES, LIKE A NOBLE EAGLE IN ITS FLIGHT.
This is what happens when you have bachakolwa in government,kampongo busy issuing threat abusing his power,be like kalaba who has realized that his boss is a wrong chap,work up and do a right thing,free HH,let our petition be heard
Iwe @ 14…..Free hh my foot…. That Does not justify you to start burning innocent people’s merchandise who tomorrow you will go to and start lobbying for votes.
This time you have really decampaingned yourselves. This is as good as killing someone.
Anyway Mutinta Hichilema clearly told the nation about these volcano’s and videos are in public domain, the security wing can start with her so that she can tell the nation what she meant.
I thought I was blocked Lusaka times kiikikiki
Behave and just celebrate the fires.. Tonga I.diot
it seems to me that people already know what caused the blaze. Even the honarable Mwila, even if he still waiting for the investigation result of what caused the fire, he holds however, a pre-determined view of the cause i. e sabbotage or electrical fault. it occurs to me that these prej·u·dice that people hold including the minister, might eclispe the unbiased investigation of the cause.
scholary thought
At least he has said something that is sensible even if I don’t agree that PF is a pro poor party. Why is Lungu and PF cadres very rich in less than 3 yrs? We wait for results from investigation. To me me it looks like it was an inside PF job to blame it on UPND so that Lungu who has lost popularity among many PF cadres can have some sympathy and declare a state of emergency. Where were the police? Is this market not guarded by PF?
we leave in hazardrous world, look Funda according to you “it was an inside PF job” and you still waiting for the results. is itnt that prejudice you are holding just like honorable Mwila?
The party should have waited for the minister of home affairs to say something. The issue is not for trhe party but for all zambians.. I feel for the people that had lost all their items in the fire. The SG could be right but i feel the right person to speak is the minister. How much did our fire service do the save some items?. it is time an audit of all markets is done. If the fire was started on purpose who ever is bhind his is a devil really.