Dec 19 deadline for street vending in Lilongwe

Lilongwe Mayor, Willy Chapondera said the City Council will on Friday push street vendors  back to the designated places of doing business to ensure security for residents in the city.

Speaking at a news conference at Central Office of Information (COI) in Lilongwe Chapondera said the council has developed some mechanisms to reinforce the laws of doing business in the designated places in the city.

“This time when the council cleans up the streets these vendors will not return to do business in the streets.

“We have put in place mechanisms to monitor and secure the city and that by-laws which were enacted will be applied on everyone caught doing business in illegal places,” Chapondera said.

He further said the Lilongwe Council will strike fine on any vendor if caught doing business in undesignated places according to the laws of the city council.

The mayor expressed disappointment with the tendency of street vending which he said put at risk many innocent lives and that it devastates the outlook of the Lilongwe capital city.

“I want to ask the buyers to shun away from buying anything from such vendors. If these vendors did not have a market for their goods they could not be found on the street selling their goods,” the mayor said.

He added that the city council realizes the shortage of market to cater for many vendors however he said the city has found a place in area 22B where the council would establish a market.

“We just need to construct toilets and few blocks at the market and we will relocate them there,” he said.

Chairman for Vendors Association, Mark Namponya conquered with the Mayor that it is difficult for the Police Officers to work properly with the situation on the streets now.

“It is very difficult for police officers to identify thieves from the vendors because it is always clouded.

Street vending put many lives of people at risk especially when accidents occur, and stealing is also rampant in the city which prompts many thieves to hide in the crowd and the police fail to discharge their duties professionally,” Namponya said. –Mana

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