NDOLA STREET VENDORS GIVEN UPTO FRIDAY THIS WEEK TO VACATE THE CBD
By Nonhlanhla Phuti
Ndola Mayor Jones Kalyati has directed street vendors in the Ndola Central Business District to vacate the streets by Friday, July 28th without fail.
Speaking at a consultative meeting held with street vendors and other stakeholders this morning, Mr Kalyati directed that all street vendors should by Friday leave the streets and that no vendor will be allowed to trade in the streets of the CBD on Saturday.
Mr Kalyati says the local authority supports the directive by the Ministry of Local Government to remove vendors from the streets and that the delay to execute this directive was because the council wanted to the engage vendors and other relevant stakeholders before implementation.
He has since urged the vendors to cooperate and adhere to the directive as failure to do so will force the local authority to engage state and council police.
But some street vendors present at the meeting have appealed to the local authority to give them a six months period before removing them from the streets so that more markets can be constructed as the markets in Ndola cannot accommodate all of them.
And commenting on the availability of trading spaces in markets in the district, Ndola City Council Director Housing and Social Services Jonathan Simbeye revealed that a survey conducted found a total of 2,580 vacant trading spaces in different markets in the district.
PHOENIX NEWS