The Lusaka City Council (LCC) says the exercise of removing vendors from the streets is costly. LCC Assistant Public Relations Manager Habeenzu Mulunda says the council lacks resources to effectively conduct the exercise.
Mr. Mulunda said the council alone cannot manage to carry out the directive by government to remove vendors from the streets because of lack of resources.
He said this in an interview with ZANIS in Lusaka today. Mr. Mulunda appealed to government and the state police to help the council in its quest to make the streets of Lusaka free from vendors.
He disclosed that two officers were beaten by the vendors as they were trying to remove them from the streets but because council police do not have weapons they were over powered.
He said it is imperative for the state police to help the council when conducting the exercise because the council police risk the lives whenever they go in field to do their duties.
ZANIS
Well done street vendors please continue selling on the streets of Lusaka.As long as the Govt has failed to help small businesses to create jobs continue vending on the streets of Lusaka
That is not encouraging. The LCC should make a priority to rid vendors off our streets. This must be an on going exercise. The question of their officers being beaten by street vendors does not hold water. Its a question of strategy. How do you deploy 2 officers against a mob of twenty. What happened to the K2Billion that was given to ZP to carry out the exercise? Did it just disappear like that coz at one time the Mayor was asking for accountability. The best the council could have done was to pay directly to the officers wgo were being deployed and not channelling it through the Command. LCC has huge resources and the question of lack of resources is not good for us.
Change tactic. Start arresting those found buying from street vendors. If no one buys, no one will sell.
This will be more effective.