(Times of Zambia)-The Ndola City Council (NCC) has given street vendors up to tomorrow to leave the streets following yesterday’s stakeholder meeting.
From the council’s survey, about 2,580 trading spaces were vacant in various markets around the district.
Ndola Mayor Jones Kalyati said following a directive by the Ministry of Local Government, the council would swing into action and remove the vendors adding that the district had a number of stands that were still vacant in various markets. During the meeting with street vendors and their associations, Mr Kalyati warned that there should be no traders operating along the streets on Friday.
He said the council called for the meeting to ensure that all the parties involved reached an agreement by understanding the reasons the Government had come up with this pronouncement.
“We do not want our traders to be caught unaware, street vending in town will no longer be allowed so we decided to hold this meeting with you so that we inform you about this coming exercise,” he said.
Mr Kalyati urged traders to move back into the markets without engaging in any fights with the law enforcers.
Town Clerk Shilla Songolo said street vending in the Central Business District (CBD) affected the outlook of the city because the collection of garbage generated by the traders was difficult.
Ms Songolo said the markets, where council had arranged for them to be taken back, had improved sanitary facilities unlike trading in the streets.
And NCC director of housing and social services Jonathan Simbeye said a total of 2,580 trading spaces were vacant in various markets across the district.
However, some street vendors have appealed to the council to give them a six months period before removing them from the streets.
They said the period would give time to the local authorities to construct more markets because the current markets could not accommodate all the vendors.
