Mzuzu vendors hold demo against 21-days lockdown
Angry Mzuzu City vendors on Thursday took to the streets to protrst against government’s decision to implement a 21-day lockdown as measure to contain Covid-19, the strain of coronavirus disease, saying it will cause more problems for the urban poor.
The market and street vendors who started the protests without notifying the authorities as stipulated in the law, vowed to defy the lockdown order.
Speaking in a random interview with Nyasa Times, vendors said the lockdown will create an economic disaster and asked government to first provide them food for the days.
“We shall not abide to the lockdown order. Give us food that will save our families for 21 days,” said Godwin Kaunda.
The vendors who closed their shops market areas said it was a “great mistake to think in terms of lives versus livelihoods”.
Many said they would rather die with Covid-19 than hunger.
Before the lockdown which starts on Saturday, the government announced a series of measures to cushion the economic effects, including Medef loan fund to help small businesses.
However, the Malawi Congress of Trade Unions (MCTU) while welcoming the lockdown, said more needed to be taken to ensure that Malawians would have jobs to return to once the pandemic was over.
MCTU also asked government and private sector to cushion workers.
President Peter Mutharika has warned that “if (we are ) not careful, Malawi could lose up to 50,000 lives from Cvodi-19.”
Mutharika said at a national address with Health Minister Jappie Mhango announcing the lockdown lasting from April 18 until May 9.
Mhango said all non-essential businesses and services would cease.
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The cemetry is full of heroes
Abale Anzanga ndi umbuli olo chani. MDF and Police thyapani mosaona nkhope onse amene akukana lockdown. Lockdown is good for even those stupid ignorant people who are demonstrating.
All it takes is one person in that crowd to have corona and pass it on to everyone there..
Mr President, you have tried your best, just let these stupid people die of Corona, let them enjoy their rights and roam free in mzuzu village. Let them
be Sir. Mtumbuka sazatheka.
Maybe when they start dying they will get your good and honest intentions. Maybe they will understand you are already 79 and lived your life, it’s their lives you are trying to protect. Let these people be,Sir
Solutions to this problem,the government should distribute food parcels to those who don’t have.Use soldiers and police officers to do that first.Then lockdown can come.That is first solution.The second solution is this one,if the government can not manage to distribute food parcels then there should be no lockdown, instead allow Malawians to keep their day to day activities so that they can find food.The soldiers and police officers should force everyone to put musk on. Anyone who does not comply arrest him or her.Forcing Malawians who have no food to go inside houses it’s suicidal and criminal offence.I believe the president has food in his house and ministers has enough food too.When time to vote comes, DPP Will be distributing that food you exchange with votes.The government should distribute food now , this time is also important coz it comes under disaster management. Coronavirus is a disaster happening in the world.If you do that every one will be happy.Just imagine taking away all the food from the president’s house and ministers houses and force them to start lockdown, I hope they can’t allow that to happen to their children.
a police ndi army akhala mmiseu reinforcing ,if not kumenya anthu mmiseumu
Kkkkkkkkk the term “hand to mouth” reminds me of my economics professor which is referred to as “frugal economy” wojiya kuakawa a minibus K4780.00 kudyera chips, kumwera nkalabongo yosala kamalizira hule. Day in day out. Zero saving. Zadala. Government can’t afford to jeopardize the lives of its citizens because of the so called hand to mouth economics.
Which hunger are you talking about? Weve had good rains this year and last year. One dpp creates this hunger by deliberately failing to stock the grain reserves and two most farmers are stupid for they realise enough but sell at cheap prices to vendors who in turn resell at these funny prices.
Koma mtundu wa anthu a ku North azazindikira onse atatha. Makani pachilichonse. Mpaka COVID-19 nkumamuchitiranso makani? Ok, tiyenazoni.
They are not Vendors but Covid-19 Fans and transmitters!
The virus can survive on surfaces for 72 hours. Think how each time the Vendor gives you change, you get back a free gift in the virus to go and infect your own loved one’s and friends at home.
In the end, life is worth much much more.
You are writing your own history for the few that survives this. If measures are nog taken, believe me 50,000 people dying will be reached in record time. Future generations will question why such intelligent and peace loving people chose to be martyrs!
If opposition is not careful you will lose plenty votes through Covid19 tolerated deaths in the North. I bet you when people start suffering from civid19 Peter will not send any help to make sure they die. Look far please.
Foseki
We are talking about welfare issues of Malawi. If lock down is not done expect people dying in large numbers in Malawi
I have the opposition to blame for politicizing Covid 19. We shall always have winners and losers for issues like these, as it were fate, the opposition has to be moral and move on, managing their people in the process. But the more they create anarchy and plant seeds of doubt like this, shame shame we are in for trouble.
Who told you that vendors belong to the opposition? Will hunger only affect the opposition party supporters?
Templar, Blame this clueless govt. for implementing controls without looking at other critical issues. They are busy stealing without looking at the plight Malawians are facing. How dull is the whole whooping cabinet??????
galu iwe ukuti chani. From the word go the committee for corona virus would have balanced. All parties (opposition, PAC, Civil societies, law experts, and above all Medical experts) would be included. But kungoika ambolommwamba okhaokha ndi apalowaina basi!!!!! Mumati pangatuluke chani chanzeru????
Ndipo mbuzi zokha mumacomiti an pocketing large amounts of allowance
This is insane, with which money or economy are you guys going to use to lock down the country. You’re just making things worse. Stand up Malawi it’s time to show them that the Malawi they’re running today is no longer the same. Our eyes are wide open now, people will suffer plus our currency will be devalued. We are very poor we can’t stand Lockdown, they want to fill their pockets now
The problem is not the opposition. It is government. This is a national crisis and government should have formed a covid 19 committee of Doctors and at least one member from each party represented in parliament chaired by a cabinet minister. Whatever the president is saying now should have been a professional recommendation from this committee. Koma izi za chi Malawi zoti winner takes it all sizitithandizatu.
It’s easy for someone who is able to get into a shop and buy groceries and the likes, to say these mzuzu demonstrators are insane. The most dreaded disease to most is hunger hence they would rather face covid-19, but then some will never understand this because they have never experienced the effects of hunger. Its really sad though that the government knowing that 80% of its population survive on hand to mouth did not put in place any measures to cushion these people during a tough time like this. The lockdown needed to be carefully evaluated and feasible measures recommended. Their prediction that at least 50 000 lives may be lost could be very accurate but the question is, is it from covid-19 or hunger during a lockdown?
Ecuador in south America ignored the lockdown ,now they die by the thousands . government has given them paper cardboard coffins to use but in the monsoons they are falling to pieces, the bodies fall out onto the road and are squashed by heavy waggons , nobody will shift them as they fear to near them , Malawi this could be you a few weeks time, your choice !!!
With Convid-19 or Minus Covid 19 life has to go on, let me remaind you palibe wa muyaya pa dziko pano komanso bible limati tizafa ndithu, but we should have hope that there is a life after death.
Tiyeni tingofufuza chasisa dzaye kuti covid-19 agwe pa dziko pano.
Easy. The lockdown starts on Saturday at 2359hours. Our demo (the real demo) will be on Monday 20th April in the commercial city of Blantyre.
I guess because there is no COVID 19 virus reported case in the north and it is the reason why they don’t understand what repercussions will bring following what these dudes are doing.
the numbers of affected people are so low because testing numbers are low.
Leave them. But don’t entertain them when they realise that they are dying like chickens from the same disease they are challenging. bad politics in Malawi as well as high levels of illiteracy.
Lockdown is medically and religiously moral but the same must be pre-mrditated rather than just a reflex act. More over the risks of COVID 19 and hunger the latter outweighs the former.This is woke up call to the way we plan and forecast the future economically and socially.
Achimwene look at what is happening in the USA. When we get to that level who will you blame. The truth is they are both evil but let’s opt for the less evil. That’s why I’m other countries anthu abwerera kumidzi
remember this ,china planned for this so as to wreck the world economies. it was exported throughout the world by china , they then locked down a little bit for show, nobody got sick of any importance . no economic centres got the virus, Chinese are very clever and they have a hold on Malawi too