IT’S DONE!

THE return to normalcy in trade patterns and the reinforcement of the law pertaining to street vending is an accolade worth sustaining in the country’s quest to achieve absolute cleanliness and public order.

Disorder, menacing street vending, indiscriminate solid waste dumping and peddling have fizzled out with an incredible silence, what with the amendment of the Statutory Instrument (SI) 54 of 1992 that strengthens the law against street vending and public nuisances.

Initially, there was resistance in form of stage-managed street protests that fortunately received nation-wide disapproval.

Some pockets of defiant traders are sneaking into shop corridors and streets after 17:00 hours and are covertly plying their wares. Mostly, vegetable traders are leaving market stands to position themselves in strategic places as people are knocking off.

In fact, traders are very much aware that street vending has long been outlawed which is why some of them are being hauled to police stations to answer charges.

This illegal mode of trade must for once be eliminated not only through law enforcement officers but also through the public who should not buy goods from illegal traders. They should instead institute citizens’ arrest or alert security officers.

It will also be prudent for people to acquaint themselves with the new SI 54, which proscribes street vending and nuisances.

The SI 54 has an additional 33 offences which include conducting street business or selling ready meals in vehicles or any other unlicenced locations, selling fruits and vegetables from the ground, open vans and the absence of litter bins in public transport vehicles.

Others are buying goods from undesignated places, discharging waste from a moving vehicle, permitting a passenger to discard litter from one’s moving vehicle and failing to discard rubbish in a bin.

Generally, there has been significant improvement in compliance levels; critics have conveniently kept quiet while enjoying the serene environment in the hitherto crammed streets and shop corridors.

There is now easy access to shops and other outlets while business owners are getting fair business volumes. They can now pay levies wholeheartedly.

The councils will now be able to rake in sufficient revenue from traders in shops and markets some of which were deserted in preference to streets and corridors. Traders have taken up the very spaces in the markets which they claimed were not there in the first place.

The public, particularly in Lusaka and the Copperbelt can easily navigate the streets and public places without difficulty. Previously, they had to plough through discourteous vendors and pick-pockets.

There has been tremendous improvement in the flow of traffic while more parking spaces are now available.

It is evident that some traders had abandoned market stalls in townships and trooped to the streets in pursuit of brisk business. It was also one way of avoiding to pay levies which are needed by local authorities for various services, including garbage collection.

Nakadoli market in Kitwe was literally empty while stands at Chisokone market in Ndola remained begging for traders before the operation to remove vendors from the streets was instituted.

The scenario was the same at Nakoli market in Kabwe and Kaunda Square market in Lusaka where the few traders who remained in the stands complained that customers preferred to buy from the streets.

With order being restored, councils countrywide must improve service delivery and ensure compliance by traders in paying levies and meeting other obligations.

In any case, the councils will stand to benefit because more revenue will be collected in an orderly atmosphere. They will also be able to collect garbage from designated locations.

This is a major achievement!

Councils, Zambia Environmental Management Agency, law enforcement agencies and the public must work in tandem to ensure cleanliness and orderliness in public places.

Undoubtedly, Government has shown political will; it is now up to citizens to reciprocate by following to the letter the provisions of the amended SI 54 of 1992.

It’s done!