LUSAKA STREET VENDORS PROTEST MOVE TO MARKETS. Street vendors in Lusaka have protested against the directive to vacate the streets and relocate their businesses to designated markets. The vendors staged protests as the deadline set by the Lusaka City Council for them to leave the streets came into effect today. Zambian Watch News understands that […]

LUSAKA STREET VENDORS PROTEST MOVE TO MARKETS.

Street vendors in Lusaka have protested against the directive to vacate the streets and relocate their businesses to designated markets.

The vendors staged protests as the deadline set by the Lusaka City Council for them to leave the streets came into effect today.

Zambian Watch News understands that some of the protesting vendors allege that the directive threatens their livelihoods, as many depend on street trading to support their families.

However, the publication has also received allegations that some vendors are being encouraged by individuals linked to the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) to resist the relocation in order to protect financial interests associated with market trading.

Lusaka Mayor Mwewa Chitambala Simon has maintained that the vendors will, in one way or another, be moved from the streets and into designated trading areas.

The Lusaka City Council Police have been deployed as authorities intensify enforcement of the directive.

The development has heightened tensions between the local authority and affected traders, with vendors expressing concern over where they will conduct their businesses and whether the designated markets can accommodate them.

The enforcement exercise has once again brought into focus the challenge facing Lusaka authorities in balancing the need to maintain order and regulate public spaces with the economic realities of thousands of traders who rely on informal trading for their livelihoods.

The situation remains fluid as authorities continue with the enforcement exercise.

© Zambian Watch News.