The opposition Patriotic Front (PF) has bemoaned the move by the New Dawn Administration to chase vendors out of the streets.
PF Member of the Central Committee in charge of Information and Publicity Raphael Nakacinda has argued in an interview that street vending is not a crime.
MCC Nakacinda says the New Dawn Administration is prematurely chasing vendors from the streets without providing an alternative.
“Street vending is not an offense that is why it exists and is called street vending. The only thing is that in Zambia, we have failed to put in place mechanisms to make sure that our people that are trading on the streets….it is conducive in terms of having facilities like for hygiene and many others,” he said.
“But in this case, the UPND government is prematurely chasing them out of the streets without offering them alternatives. We demand that that decision be rescinded until there is an alternative provided for our people on the street.”
MCC Nakacinda charged that the economy is in a mess under the New Dawn administration. He implored President Hakainde Hichilema to be considerate to the people on the street.
“Because the economy is really in a mess under the new dawn and life is very difficult. Now you even take away the little that people are making through their trade on the streets without an alternative. Even when you are cold hearted, that is not right. May President Hakainde Hichilema find in his heart some humanity and be considerate to the people on the street,” he said.
“That fellow he is sending out there to and harass people on the street, Garry Nkombo with his arrogance, they are going to face the consequences. The President keeps on saying that cadres who are trying to interfere with the work of the police they will be on their own. Nowadays we don’t even believe, we don’t believe what the President says because he says one thing then his people act differently.”
The MCC added that so far, what President Hakainde Hichilema has been saying is sheer rhetoric.
“So we don’t know whether that is him to feed the public with rhetoric and then act differently when it comes to the real issues. So far, the evidence suggests that whatever the President says is just rhetoric because his people are acting centrally to what to what he says,” he said.
Tell them comrade. They used these traders for votes and lied to them. We told you that upnd is a party for elitist wannabes. I mean look at garry, which sensible man wears a cravat in a hot tropical country like zambia? He thinks he is some sort of bourgeoisie. Now they are in power, they think of you traders as a dirty inconvenience. We told you that pf is the only party that cares for all classes in society
We waited for money in our pockets for ten years under PF and there was completely nothing. Not just failure but Lamentable failure. Nobody from PF is going to act clever anymore, the damage was just too much
NOBODY HAS EVER SAID STREET VENDOR IS A CRIME 1D1OT
THE WHOLE BUSINESS COMMUNITY BUSINESS IS FED UP HAVING THEIR CORRIDORS LITTERED AND SMELLING OF URINE
BUT PF GAVE THEM AN OPEN TICKET SO HERE WE SIT WITH THIS DILEMMA
PLACES WILL BE FOUND FOR THEM
Raphael is not helping with his daily ranting. You had 10 years to find them alternative trading places. Instead you encouraged street vending so that your cadres steal from them by charging a daily trading fee. We need to collect tax from business houses whose corridors are swamped by street vending.
Street vending is a social crime- it robs taxpayers & formal retailers,it brought cholera in 2018 and it congests our walk paths.
Even ukunyela pa PF secretariat is not a crime.
It was not under lawless PF, but it always has been.
KZ are you still using ECL’s potrait or the incumbent’s in your office
Street vending in itself is not a crime. However, we need to learn from countries like Thailand and China which have a good record of ‘street food’. The government can allocate areas for street vending and make customer experience pleasurable.
Indeed stup!d KZ, PF is the ONLY party that takes care of corrupt criminal cadres that don’t care about law and order, and like to block roads and pedestrian areas. Street vending is ONLY legal inside Lusaka Central Prison
Enough of street vending..they have to go. Good move .. don’t be afraid to do the right thing… They have taken over some lanes in lumumba road imargine!!! Let them go to the markets …im sick with them
@tarino, no, I have your f00Iish ugly mothers portrait in my office
Mbuzi
MMD can you get your Nakachinda back, us in PF don’t want him.
Nakachinda will finish like Kaizar, I am just seeing from the trends, just check the way Kaizar is finished ,like the front left tyre of a corolla, from a powerful advisor to a cheap blogger. The guy now knows what barbed the guinea fowl
This Nakachinda chap is a waste of space. UPND never said street vending is a crime, can you start thinking please
Let him use his binoculars to read SI no 10 of 2018.
If it’s not a crime in your eyes then let the professional make it a crime and legalise safe street vending because you seem to miss the point and shift to wherever the wind blows. We shall speak out for you if you get victimised by unlawful agents but on this one I think you got the wrong end of the stick.
Street vending IS illegal. It’s troubling when so called MPs don’t even know the by-laws of their own local councils
PF spoilers spoiled street vendors. Remove them we need space in the CBD to move freely. PF left the economy on its knees and street vendors should not blame the New Down government