The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has supported Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) on the move to remove street vendors in Lusaka’s Central Business District (CBD).
Speaking in an interview with Lusaka star, Local Government and Rural Development Permanent Secretary Maambo Hamaundu said street vending is an illegal activity and that his Ministry held a stakeholder’s meeting to find a way of ending street vending.
Mr.Hamaundu said that people trading in undesignated places can cause traffic accidents which can only be avoided by trading in prescribed areas.
He added that the move by RTSA to remove street vendors in the CBD is welcomed and should be supported by everyone.
“City Market and other markets still have places for trading and vendors should utilize those unoccupied spaces,” he said.
He has since urged all street vendors to relocate to the allocated trading areas in order to bring sanity to the CBD.
“We urge traders to ensure that they operate in designated areas like in the markets and let the road be for road users,” he said.
Meanwhile Vendors, Traders and Marketers Association of Zambia President Fredrick Tembo also welcomed the move by the government through RTSA to remove street vendors in the CBD.
Mr.Tembo said government should be commended for this move because it shows that they care for the safety and lives of traders.
He said that even if other people’s livelihoods depend on street vending, safety should be above everything and never be compromised.
“It was going to be even better if a stakeholder’s meeting was held before launching such a program as a way of spreading the message and sensitising street vendors,” he added.
Mr.Tembo further advised traders to go back in their various market places to do business because markets are conducive areas for trading.