By Mwansa Kaumba
Opposition Citizens First (CF) member Stanley Mhango has urged his fellow opposition members to stop using street vendors as a campaign tool by promoting lawlessness.
In a statement today, Mhango said he fully commended and supported Lusaka mayor-elect Chitambala Mwewa “for his bold and patriotic effort to bring sanity to the Central Business District by restoring order and enforcing local authority by-laws.”
He urged against the usual culture of politicising well intentioned initiatives.
”This matter must not in any way be politicised. Restoring order is about public health, safety and development, not party politics. I appeal to Government and the UPND leadership to support the Lusaka City Council to enforce the by-laws without political interference,” Mhango stated. “To us in the opposition: Let us desist from using street vendors as a campaign tool by promoting lawlessness. Defending illegality for votes is not pro-poor, it is anti-development.”
He argued that order protected the poor and sanity builds the economy.
”The removal of traders, minibus operators and taxis operating from undesignated premises is long overdue,” Mhango stated. “This lawlessness has cost the City not only massive revenue, but has contributed to the loss of thousands of lives from preventable epidemics such as Cholera.”
Mhango stated that street vending made it difficult for the local authority health department to ensure that goods and foodstuffs being sold were safe for human consumption, as health inspectors could not carry out routine inspections in chaotic streets.
”Furthermore, trading in undesignated places contributes to criminality. Unregulated streets, corridors and illegal bus stops have become breeding grounds for pickpockets, robberies and other criminal activities. No city can prosper when its centre is governed by disorder,” stated Mhango.
