The Lusaka City Council says it returned merchandise found in 11 demolished illegal makeshift shops in Kamwala to owners (traders) on Monday.
Council Acting Public Relations Manager George Sichimba said contrary to assertions that the merchandise was looted by Council and State police during the demolition exercise, the merchandise was taken to Civic Center for safe keeping.
Mr Sichimba said during operations of such nature, state police is involved to make sure that the merchandise found in targeted premises is not looted.
“Among the merchandise found in demolished shops were footwear, Salaula, mobile phones and accessories and groceries. Others were artificial hair products, hand bags, compact discs (CDs) and a computer monitor,” Mr Sichamba said.
He said affected traders were invited to Civic Center to identify their merchandise and have them back.
“LCC wishes to advise traders to follow the laid down procedure to acquire trading space/shops to avoid inconveniences like what happened in Kamwala. The policy of the Council now is that all illegal structures must be brought down in the local authority’s quest to maintain sanity in the city,” he said.
Mr Sichimba said residents should not fall prey to people allocating plots or trading space without the authority of council as they may end up losing their resources when structures are demolished.
“LCC does not take pleasure in demolishing structures but illegality must not left unchecked as it has the potential of retarding the city’s development and a receipe for outbreaks of diseases such Cholera,” he said.
Meanwhile, he Lusaka City Council (LCC) has revealed that it will compensate the 18 traders whose shops were recently demolished at Luburma market in Kamwala.
Speaking in an interview with ZANIS, Lusaka Deputy Mayor Chilando Chitangala said that the council is currently having discussions with the traders on how best they can be compensated.
Ms. Chitangala explained that the authority will continue engaging the traders on when and how they will be compensated for their loss.
This was after Patriotic Front Secretary General Davies Mwila summoned the deputy mayor and demanded that the authority compensates all the affected traders whose goods were destroyed.
LCC last Sunday demolished about 18 structures that were erected within kamwala market.
What is left of the dear country is a shell of it, expectedly!
You mean nobody stole/looted the merchandise even amidst all the horrible poverty in Zambia?
Hahaha ,those dirty Luapulan kikes are too poor i guess the return is purely on humanitarian grounds.
@ Mzambia Wa…
bupuba boo
How can you compensate people without trading licenses who are illegal…where are you getting funds to compensate them? Lat the dull SG Mwila compensate them..
Iam getting mixed up. Now the council is talking of compensation, does it mean they acted outside their mandate or are they just being intimidated by the ruling party? For the council to move in and start demolishing structures, they must have had a prima facie case but for them to turn around after being threatened by SG Mwilla is very unprofessional. If this trend of intimidating public workers continues, then mark my words, STREET VENDING IS COMING BACK as we approach the election year!
If it was you ,how could you feel ? Don’t
be like Satanist you have to think very well if it was you .
Don’t late devil to use you we are all same it’s one Zambia one nation and one
nation one Zambia .
Please LCC, also raze down tuntembas in our townships. They are coming up with impunity. Please never mind Davis Mwila, he is just politicking like h.h.
By the way LCC you cannot pay salaries where will you get money for compensation? Obviously all allowances will be paid.
Ati what what upnd cadre? How the hell is LCC (Lusaka City Council) responsible for Kitwe,Luanshya.Chipata or Livingstone?
Compensating a thief for stealing! This is what HH calls chipantepante and I fully agree with him. Bye laws are there to be enforced for public good. Why tolerate law breakers?
Compensation should be limited to the merchandise that was destroyed or confiscated without warning, and not the illegal structures. The illegal structures have to be demolished without compensation. That’s the only way to deter others from putting up structures illegally. If you compensate them for the structures you demolished, your efforts will be self defeating and will encourage others to build illegally. Because they’ll think that if you demolish the structures, they’ll be compensated for it. So they’ve nothing to lose. Do not compensate them for the illegal structures. And we applaud you for your effort. Demolish all illegal structures to make Lusaka a beautiful city that it ought to be.