Lusaka Mayor Chilando Chitangala has said that over 3,000 foreigners are trading in Lusaka Central Business District.
Ms. Chitangala said that the foreigners who hail from Rwanda, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Tanzania sell various goods such as second-hand clothes, biscuits, alcohol, plaiting hair among others.
Ms. Chitangala said that most of them do not have valid documents to trade and live in Zambia and have even applied for market stalls at City market.
Speaking when she featured on Hot FM’s Breakfast show yesterday, Ms.Chitangala said most of the foreigners are even using fake Zambian names to conceal their real identities and some of them sleep at Intercity Terminus thereby causing congestion at the station.
Ms. Chitangala has warned that the council in collaboration with the Immigration department will soon remove the foreigners from the city in order to restore sanity
Bottom line is that they more disciplined, more industrious more everything than our people. In any case what are you doing about it.
Making unfounded accusations like these it what leads to XENOPHOBIA.
Talk to Immigration authorities, not us. Lamenting in the press won’t help
Zambia is a christian nation and should not tolerate such a xenophobic statement from the Mayor. Even our beloved KK was from Malawi. Your contribution to society should matter more than where you come from.
The new devil government is now inciting xenophobia. Just create employment, reduce fule to k5, reduce mealie meal, reduce the price of fertilizer like you promised Zambians and stop excuses by blaming foreigners. Zambian love their neighbors like they have always done.
The mayor is telling you the core of the problem and now you are calling her xenophobic ????
Sanity must be restored. If they are illegal, remove them to their countries.
In order for a country to develop you need competition, tell the youths to explore the opportunites in neighbouring countries than complaining abt foreigners selling second hand clothes. dont be Umwana Ushenda atasha nina………………,
Its a global village we live in ,the artificial boundaries where meant to limit you by the colonisers try thinking beyond your head and understand the meaning of free trade agreements and integration.
The Zambian Law doesn’t discriminate against any trader from anywhere as long as they’re not involved in any illegalities. However, if they’re illegally in Zambia then it’s the duty of the Department of Immigration to take care of that. Indeed there are all sorts of characters that have made not only Inter City bus terminus but other markets as their home. How can people live in markets and bus stations? All those that sell chitenge at Inter City 24/7 must be screened.
The dull people without the ability to reason posts a lot of nonsense here. The question is do you have valid document that allow to stay and conduct business in Zambia? Zambia is not a church where you just enter without a document that allows you to enter without any document. This is a country. A foreigner should have a legal document that allows the stay in any foreign land. Those that make noise have never gone abroad am sure. You cant just wake up and go to UK without without any document allowing you to go there.
#10 Mr True…if they don’t have valid documents, it’s simple, take appropriate action. What we’re talking about is what is this toothless mayor doing about it apart from posturing to the public.
@Deja VU, You’re not a disciplined person if you enter a country illegally and conduct business for which you’re not licensed to engage in. Zambia is a sovereign nation with her own immigration laws which everyone should follow. There’s nothing xenophobic about the statement issued by the Mayor. Zambian politicians are elected to uphold the law including those that apply to immigration and business issues. If you do not want to live in a country based on the rule of law, better get rid of all your immigration and commercial laws. Then may be you will have your Christian nation utopia and African brotherhood which will be practiced only by Zambia and no other African country.
#12 Francis don’t misinterpret my words to justify the nonsense from this mayor. I don’t support illegals, but don’t call every foreign businessman illegal…. there’s an element of jealousy whenever someone becomes successful. Even amongst ourselves we don’t admire each other’s success… you are a Satanist if you do well. It’s typical.
# 13
Every country in the world has protectionist policies…….
And no country has open borders for anyone to come and trade , legal or illegal.
And every countries citizens are rightly jealous if foreigners come and are getting rich or trading illegally
The mayor clearly says , the council will be working with immigration on this.
@Mr True. Every word on point. Only foreigners with rare skills should be given papers. After they have trained a Zambian, they should be paid their due gratitude and back to their countries.
Of course Zambians that have never travelled will consider this xenophobia. It actually is not. You take care of you and yours first, then you take care of others. Every country in the world is doing it.
Its scary reading most of the comments posted …most are very ignorant as why we have border controls it doesnt matter whether you are a Christian nation or not even in Rome they wont let you conduct business without papers in UK you can not even open a bank account. The same people posting comments here are the same people who complain about street vending when stands are occupied by foreigners.
For those lazy ones who can not research Lusaka Mayor is Chilando Chitangala and she is PF not that it makes any difference to me.
those lazy ones who can not research Lusaka Mayor is Chilando Chitangala and she is PF not that it makes any difference to me. WHO CARES WHETHER SHE’S PF OR REPUBLICAN. AS FAR AS I’M CONCERNED SHE IS JUST POSTURING. HOW LONG HAVE THESE PEOPLE BEEN TRADING IN LUSAKA AND HOW LONG HAS THIS WOMAN BEEN IN CORRIDORS OF POWER. I’M NOT SUPPORTING ILLEGALITY, WHAT I’M AGAINST IS SOMEONE TALKING JUST SO THEY CAN SHOW THEIR RELEVANCE.
Those who belonged to a lawless regime its over, New Dawn regime has elected to adhere to its national laws like any normal country in the world.
Deja Vu – If you cared to read all the comments you will see that some bloggers are accusing the current govt of encouraging xenophobia. The Mayor was obviously asked a question on radio and she answered how is that posturing. FYI it doesnt matter whether foreigners are more industrious that Zambians if they dont have the paperwork they do not have the right to be there…we all know you have a cavalier approach to law and order.
This is tantamount to disowning your people. In as much as we have foreigners in the treets the majority are indigenous Zambians. This government is full failed leaders. HH led the team in blame games.
What people also fail to understand is that most of those stands in markets occupied by foreigners are sublet by Zambians who are out there clogging up our streets with vending!!
This is total stupidity from the Mayor. Such unfounded, malicious blanket allegations against foreigners do not help anyone let alone the stupid PG Mayor.
This woman thinks she can score political goals even when she does not produce any evidence to support her Xenophobic views. If they are applying formally for trading stands, then they are law abiding so where are the illegalities?
This is pretty dangerous politicking that should not be done in our names as Zambians. We also have Zambians living in DRC, Tanzania, South Africa, Zimbabwe, etc and we don’t want them to mistreated the way this crazy Mayor is mistreating citizens from neighbouring countries! A pretty stupid, foolish mayor i would say!
It’s easy just let immigration do random checks on the traders to ascertain whether they are supposed to be in the country and allowed to trade or not. If found wanting they can be arrested and deported.
Disgraceful! The whole city centre is a smelly market place for all sorts. Why do our people put up with such chaotic and squalid conditions? Foreign or not, they are blighting the city; they’ve to be moved to designated areas.
#plant a tree please!
The trouble of ‘open doors’ immigration, is that your population will keep rising exponentially, you will never ever adequately budget for all! Any government with vision, strives to attract foreign investors with real money; not immigrants coming to gazump market stalls from locals! This is daft immigration!
#plant a tree please!
The problem is PF gave anyone who wore green with lungus face a reg card to vote………..
Forigner or not……….
Ba CC as a leader you never issue such statements without proof. Without data you will be accused of inciting xenophobia like former Johannesburg mayor Mashaba and Zulu King Zwelithini. As a leader you have access to high ranking officials in ministry of home affairs police and parliament. You can easily present your suspicions to them and allow them to legislate, arrest and prevent illegal immigrants
If I was asked the same question as the mayor, my response would be like “We are curious and interested about market stands and we will be working with relevant authorities to determine legal ownership. We want to make sure only qualified applicants own those market stands”. No matter how you look at the Mayor’s response it contains sour grapes. Leaders need to be careful making such loud statements even though they’re valid. In a nation filled with thousands of unemployed youths this message could be recipe for xenophobic violence. Lastly, no person ON EARTH is ILLEGAL, this is the message prosperous nations have coined from its more egregious form “the scam of the land” and now everyone feels comfortable to call another human being as such. The people in question are simply overstays.
If I was asked the same question as the mayor, my response would be like “We are curious and interested about market stands and we will be working with relevant authorities to determine legal ownership. We want to make sure only qualified applicants own those market stands”. No matter how you look at the Mayor’s response it contains sour grapes. Leaders need to be careful making such loud statements even though they’re valid. In a nation filled with thousands of unemployed youths this message could be recipe for xenophobic violence. Lastly, no person ON EARTH is ILLEGAL, this is the message prosperous nations have coined from its more egregious form “the scam of the land” and now everyone feels comfortable to call another human being as such. The people in question are simply overstays
When LT says your comment is awaiting moderation just forget about it
#19 Tarino Orange. If the other bloggers are accusing the Upnd of xenophobia, I am not one of them. I’ve severally mentioned that if one has no papers that one has no right to be here. What I am not happy about is this so-called mayor will just talk and not act. If they know these undocumented individuals, why not just raid their places and arrest them for deportation?
I dont expect to hear those words from a Zambian towards Zimbabweans…especially if you know that years back when things where not good in Zambia economically we Zimbabweans accommodates guys from Zambia to the extend of giving the IDs ..
How do you expect a human being to survive without trading?
Britso we accommodated you when you were fighting for your freedom and we shall continue to accommodate you even now. There are townships which belong to law abiding Zimbabweans in Zambia. Go and check Mandevu etc and there are a number of Zimbabweans who have lives there since 60s.
Zambians were actually harrassed terribly when they went to Zim as traders please get your facts right. People had their bread, buttercup confiscated at the border by you police. It was that terrible! But Zambia will always be a safe haven for all Africans.