CHISOKONE MARKETEERS REJECT K5 GARBAGE FEE

PLANS by the Kitwe City Council (KCC) to introduce a K5 garbage fee at Chisokone market have backfired as maketeers have refused to pay, accusing the local authority of inertia.

Association of Vendors and Marketeers (AVEMA) President Able Chikwa has said the traders would not entertain the council’s plan because the local authority had not shown any commitment to improve service delivery at the market.

Mr Chikwa said apart from failing to show commitment in improve garbage collection at the market, council police officers led by Mayor Christopher Kang'ombe had reportedly been harassing and brutalising hawkers and vendors.

But when contacted, Mr Kang'ombe refused to comment on the matter, saying he had no comment to make at the moment.

Mr Chikwa said marketeers had resolved not pay the fee the council was planning to introduce because the council’s lack of commitment to improve service delivery at the market.

The AVEMA chief, who was found complaining at the District Commissioner's Office, said the relationship between the local authority and marketeers had broken down beyond redemption.

"If the Kitwe City Council was showing some signs of commitment in improving service delivery at the market, marketeers would have been eager to pay fees because they would know that things will improve, but marketeers cannot see anything to write about from the council, apart from collecting levies. "Even if we were to pay the K5 garbage fee, they will not be able to improve garbage collection. The attitude at the council is bad. If they were serious with improving garbage collection, they would have shown us what they can do with the money they are making," Mr Chikwa said.

Mr Chikwa said it was inhuman and barbaric for council police officers to be brutalising hawkers, sometimes old women selling maize, vegetables and mangoes to earn a living.

When asked why he decided to complain to the DC Binwell Mpundu instead of Mayor Christopher Kang'ombe, Mr Chikwa said he would not even like to meet the mayor because he had complained to him several times but brutalising of hawkers had continued.

"I would not like to meet Kang'ombe because it would be a waste of time. I might just end up saying bad words to him. I have told him about hawkers being brutalised by council police officers, but the situation is getting worse every day.

"On Sunday, the council police officers grabbed some cooked maize from an old woman, put it down and a council vehicle drove over it. On Saturday, one youth selling various merchandise was slapped and verbally assaulted," He said.

But when contacted for a comment Mr Kang'ombe refused to comment on the matter, saying he had no comment to make at the moment.

"No comment, I have no comment to make at the moment," Mr Kang'ombe said.