The Lusaka City Council will with effect from today not allow street vending in the Central Business District in the quest to fight the spread of Coronavirus in the city.
Lusaka Mayor Miles Sampa says this includes Simon Mwewa Lane and Lumumba filter Lane which were late last year designated for street vending.
Mr Sampa said all street vendors have been requested not to turn up in the streets tomorrow but instead go back to established markets dotted around the city where they can access handwashing facilities that the Council has provided and also observe social distancing.
“Our records indicate that all markets in the City have vacant stands or trading spaces to accommodate applicants from the street vendors”, he said.
He said the decision comes in the wake of the increasing number of confirmed cases of Coronavirus in the country which stands at 36 and also in line with Statutory Instruments No. 21 and 22 of 2020, which, among other things has restricted mass public gatherings.
Mr Sampa said the Council has observed that it is practically difficult to provide handwashing facilities in the streets and make vendors observe social distancing of at least one meter apart.
“LCC together with its stakeholders are doing everything possible within their means to provide hand washing facilities, conduct sensitisations and make marketeers observe social distancing but the same cannot be done to street vendors”, he added.
Mr Sampa said this clearly shows that some residents of the city are not being reached in terms of measures put in place by Government to fight the spread of Coronavirus pandemic.
He said to this end, LCC has procured 300 litre capacity hand washing facilities to be placed in markets and bus stations and also enough chemicals to disinfect the establishments.
Mr Sampa said vending, is also hampering the Council’s efforts to keep the city clean thereby risking the lives of all residents.
He expressed hope that vendors and other stakeholders such vendors’ associations will support the move to avoid the spread of Coronavirus.
Mr Sampa has warned that Vendors who will not abide by the directive will be met with the full force of the combined team of state and council police officers.
Excellent development from this proactive intelligent young man mles. People thought miles was a joker to start with. Now he is showing you the caliber of pf.
This is a good development but certainly not an excellent one.
Thats the way to go kanabesa ba mayor and dont mind the silly comments coming from denkete guys like tarino orange,
Right decision. At the same time, the vendors also need some form of economic relief.
If you had taken an proactive stance when the military had removed the vendors things would have been easier but since the things that concern the citizens do not matter to this govt but what benefits them directly as politicians, if the simon mwewa lane market was a by election it would have been finished a long time ago but becaue it would benefit the poor Zambians it is of no use if really they were concerned with the welfare of Zambians they would have found money to finish it but because its not a jet for their luxury flying why being concerned.
You are thanking them for an “intelligent decision” forgetting it was the very PF who brought street vending back when its Lusaka Province Chairman Paul Moonga announced. Sampa is a non entity who is out ranked by mere party members they will come back and override this decision and he will not say jack.
This issue that has not been addressed by successive govts in the past is now being “addressed by mother nature” itself. It will certainly be tough for the vendors but mother nature does not show remorse.
What a joke of a GRZ lead by absolute jokers PF ……..was street vending not banned already ????
Covid 19 will be very difficult to controll in a hand to mouth existence with millions unemployed and a GRZ broke by corruption and mismangment.
Now is when we need that disaster management unit that was very active distributing free food in chilubi elections ….
What I find stunning is lack of introspection and reflection that we have grounded the country to a halt in all sectors. Us the true green PF from Sata’s academy we are able to discern these jokers, but for these ba mwisa who came to join us from MMD, when we were trying to build PF with Edgar still in UPND have given this country hell on earth. Kwacha to a dollar is beyond them ,reserves depleted, unemployment record high,inflation haywire, Mealie meal prices beyond reach, after removing unip queues of 29 years ago, the clock is then wound back 29 years back wards and we are now queueing for mealie meal, all the gains from MMD washed away. MMD fuel, electricity,mealie meal was much cheaper with fewer taxes, and somebody says I want to stand again in 2021. Yaba….
DMMU should have been under the defense wings especially zns, and not under the Veep’s office, we need something like the national guard.
PF MP WANTS JUSTICE TO PREVAIL OVER BEATING HE SUFFERED FROM KAIZAR…says Chicago bar is scared to provide footage to police
By Patson Chilemba
Chitambo PF member of parliament Chanda Mutale says he wants justice to prevail over the recent case where he was allegedly beaten by President Edgar Lungu’s former political advisor Kaizar Zulu.
Giving an update on the matter to Daily Revelation, Mutale said he had finalised giving his testimony and those of his witnesses to the police over the recent incident where he was allegedly beaten by Zulu and his thugs at Chicago bar in Lusaka.
Mutale, who is also PF Central Province chairperson, said the owners of the bar have refused to provide CCTV footage of the incident to the police out of fear, challenging Zulu himself if he was being genuine…
Suddenly the Lusaka City Council thinks it csn stop the informal sector. How? It has always been a nuisance even b4 the covinvirus scare. LCC has been disaster for years.
On sunday I was robbed a three hundred kwacha after being attacked by thugs together with my phone was also confiscated. All this is as a result of hunger. people have no money to buy food.Boma illanganepo.
When didn’t this thing come to an end?
You can not keep playing this pingpong game with street venders in the city….it is silly! Why is it that you only notice how filthy the city is when there is an outbreak of some disease? Yesterday it was Cholera, today it is Covid-19, and tomorrow it may be something that will kill half the city population before you wake and realise the importance of living in a clean environment. Laws to empower you as city leaders already exist, so one wonders who the hell you are still waiting for to come and enforce these laws and keep our cities/streets clean.
Street vending by its nature is unsanitary, filthy, unhealthy and make cities look ugly. And if I might add; street vending is UNNECESSARY! If there is enough space in established Markets already, “why in the hell” (as Americans would…
Continue….
say) can’t you clear these people off the streets once and for all and keep them in legal established Markets as required? Really, for how long are you people going to keep repeating the same ridiculous cycle epidemic after epidemic? Mayors are elected to keep cities safe, organized, functioning, and clean everyday. That’s your job Mr. Sampa, pleassssse….!