WAKE UP LCC, SAYS TONGA

By JUSTINA MULENGA THE initiative government has taken to engage the military to clean up Lusaka town and markets is a good move, though the end of street vending remains questionable as most street vendors survived on earnings from selling in the streets, says 3rd Liberation Movement president Enoch Roosevelt Tonga.

In an interview with the Daily Nation yesterday, Mr. Tonga said such works should continue even when there is no outbreak like cholera.

Mr Tonga said the exercise done by the military should also be extended to all compounds in Lusaka with or without an outbreak of cholera.

He said it is not government’s only responsibility to keep Lusaka town and markets clean but every resident, especially the street vendors must make sure that their trading places are kept clean. “It is shameful that an outbreak like cholera has moved government to clean up the city of Lusaka, but the question is would this cleaning have taken place there were no cholera cases recorded?” he said.

Mr Tonga said government should also look in to where the street vendors will be placed as there would be an increase of theft in communities where these street vendors come from.

He said there is so much poverty in Zambia that eliminating street vending for good should always come up with a solution as to where the street vendors will go.

He blamed Lusaka City Council for their inefficiency to keep Lusaka city clean which has resulted in the shameful cholera outbreak.

“The council has been ‘sleeping’ all along until there was an out of cholera which claimed many lives,” he said.

He said LCC is one of the riches councils in the country but their works are not seen.

He urged the council to take such a clean-up initiative as a challenge and make sure they do their work accordingly.