By SARAH MWANZA and PASSY HAACHIZO –
LUSAKA Mayor Wilson Kalumba says street vendors will be relocated before the onset of the rains.
Mr Kalumba said the move was aimed at cleaning the Central Business District (CBD) which is chocked with street vendors.
Speaking during a tour of the CBD in Lusaka yesterday, Mr Kalumba said space within the CBD had been reserved where the vendors would be taken to.
“We are exploring these alleys within the CBD to see if we can give them to the vendors before the rainy season,” he said.
He added that removing the vendors from busy roads was also for their own safety, adding that the new trading places would have proper sanitation.
A trader, Stephen Banda said the vendors were ready to be moved to a new place as soon as possible.
However, some vendors have expressed sadness at the development saying they would be inconvenienced.
They complained that the alleys where the council wanted to move them were too small.
Martha Kabwe called on the mayor to advise street vendors to go back to new Soweto market which had become almost empty.
“We advise the local authority to leave the alleys and find an alternative place where the vendors can trade from,” she said.
Meanwhile, Kabwe Municipal Council (KMC) has shut down five bars including Chill Port, one of the most popular taverns in the area for violating council regulations.
Chill Port in Kasanda Mine area was closed on Saturday while Kamulolo Bar in Nakoli Township, Risk Port Zambia Railways in Chowa Township and Zanvie and Comfort Zone bars in Natuseko Township were closed on Sunday.
KMC assistant public relations manager Mumba Mafwenko said in an interview that the clubs had been closed for non-adherence to operating regulations.
Ms Mafwenko said Chill Port, which had become popular in recent times with its loud music, had ignored the caution from the local authority on noise pollution and exceeding operating hours.
The club was apparently fined for noise pollution and operating beyond 22:00 hours, but management did not stop, a situation which forced the local authority to shut it for a month.
Ms Mafwenko said it was sad that Risk Port was even operating when the licence had already expired.
She also advised those who had secretly turned bars into night clubs to desist from doing so before the law took its course.
“The licence for Risk Port expired in June this year and we expect them to come for interviews before it is extended. Let me also mention that in Kabwe, the only recognised night club is Chez Nthemba,” she said.