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Vendors in Lusaka have defied government’s one week ultimatum for them to stop conducting business in the streets.

A check by ZANIS in Lusaka, in most streets in the central business district revealed that vendors were still going about their business as usual despite the ultimatum having elapsed yesterday.

And those talked to did not show any signs of moving out of the streets anytime time soon.
Mathews Nkonde who sales second hand clothes challenged government to state clearly were the vendors should go if they live the streets.

Mr. Nkonde explained that currently there are no enough trading spaces to accommodate all vendors in the city. He said this is why it is difficult for vendors to just leave the streets and go to markets were they know very well that they will not be welcomed as all the market stores have already been taken up.

Another vendor Margaret Chansa appealed to government to extend the period if the traders are to have adequate time to look for alternative places from which they can conduct their businesses.
She explained that there are a lot of vendors and all of them cannot be accommodate in the available market stands hence should be given time to look for other designated places where they can trade from.

Meanwhile Lusaka City Council has advised street vendors that do not have spaces were to trade from in the market to register with relevant market authorities and be given stands.

Council Public Relations Manager Chanda Makanta said the local authority has set up desks in various markets to look into issues of space allocation to vendors that will move out of the streets and  do not have trading spaces.  Mrs. Makanta disclosed that the council undertook an inventory to establish the numbers of empty spaces in various markets before the vendors were removed from the streets.

She said this is why the vendors should use this opportunity and register with market authorities who will assist them in securing trading spaces in designated areas.However, a check at new Soweto market found that no vendors have so far gone to register with the market manager to be allocated stores

(Source: ZANIS)