The new Soweto Market Selection Committee has appealed to Local Government and Housing Minster Benny Tetamashimba to give an extension to the ultimatum given to street vendors to vacate the streets by June 10.
Selection Committee Member, Colonel Gerry Chanda, who is also Kanyama Member of Parliament, says the minister should consider giving vendors more time to enable the selection committee complete the selection process.
Local Government and Housing Minster Benny Tetamashimba has given vendors up to June 10 to vacate the streets and trade from the new Soweto market and other existing markets.
Colonel Chanda, however, told ZANIS in an interview today that although the move to rid the streets of vendors is welcome, the selection process must be allowed to be concluded before any action to remove the vendors is sanctioned.
He said the allocation of trading spaces in the new Soweto market would go beyond the June 10 ultimatum.
“The new market will not be opened by 15 of June if we are to do a decent job, because this is when we are starting interviewing the traders, so we will need another one month or so to complete the selection process and we also need to advertise the names in the media,” he said.
Colonel Chanda said while he supports the move to ensure vendors trade in designated markets, the traders should first be given stands in the new Soweto market.
“The move by the minister to remove street vendors is a good one and I will support it, but the minister should first provide trading places for the vendors. He should look for other alternatives before he can commence the exercise” he said.
Colonel Chanda disclosed that the selection exercise had taken long because it was difficult to come up with the genuine names of beneficiaries.
He explained that the initial list had 2,527 traders but that the list has since risen to over 15,000.
Colonel Chanda said this has posed a great challenge to the committee to allocate stalls to bonafide traders as there are only 2,100 trading spaces in the market.
He said the committees would today start screening traders that have applied to be considered for the trading spaces in the new market.
The new Soweto market was scheduled to open by 15th June. Local Government and Housing minister Benny Tetamashimba is on record that a combined team of State and council police would by June 10 swing into action and rid the Lusaka Streets of vendors.
ZANIS
Iwe Chanda, stop politicking! Lusaka is dirty! can vendors leave the streets please?
Ba LT, don’t you hava other things to write apart from this Gorrila of a person.
I think having a market where traders can trade is a good idea. We need to stop the issue of harassing city dwellers with products on the street.
I also think the removal of street vendors from the street will clean up the city and bring back development in the CBD. I however find the issue of 15,000 applicants promising.
This should be encouraging to govt and the LCC must commence the constructing of another ultra modern market in the city. This will foster entrepreneurship and development and will also uplift people’s lives.
Lusaka Times, do you have some pictures of the new soweto market so we can have a feel of how it looks like??
Please do what is good for the people and the nation at large.
Col Chanda is not politicking he just wants to execute the proccess in an orderly manner. Street vendors could be voletile if not handled properly. You could fall victim if any violence broke out. Please lets study cases carefully and rationally before we blog.
chanda has a point .we need to try and resolve through like he says allocating spaces to genuine traders .this doe not come through ultimatums.no .zambia is a democratic country using democratic practices and not ultimatums .say vendors are evicted by force .will this solve the problem .what is the underlying cause of street vending .that should be tenta s concern day in day out.lusaka is dirty even without vendors .the huge disaheartening poverty is and should be a major factor in govt decisions and not beauty or conjestion.
You are right Teta to force people out of streets,but watch out riot can arise, we have civil servants preparing for national wide strike 1, Police officers are not well paid hence fueling riot 2,Council workers is common knowledge to the unborn babies that the council workers are never paid on time 3.The situation of removing vendors stands at 87% disturbing peace in the country Mark my words.