LSTONE VENDORS FACE BOOT

LIVINGSTONE City Council will clear all vendors from the streets as the fight against COVID-19 gets into an over drive.

It has been difficult to fight against the spread of COVID-19 with street vendors who have occupied all the streets in the central business district.

The local authority has mobilised state police to remove all street vendors who have occupied the streets in the tourist capital.

Council Public Relations Manager, Melvin Mukela, told the Daily Nation in Livingstone that vendors were undoing efforts made in the fight against COVID -19.

Mr Mukela regretted that the illegal traders had continued flooding of streets despite sensitising them on the need for them to go back to markets.

“Other than being illegal to trade from the streets, the vendors are equally not observing the guidelines given by the ministry of health such as wearing of masks, social distancing, having buckets and soap to wash their hands,” he said.

He said that the behaviour of the vendors was putting their lives and those of their customers at risk of contracting coronavirus. “Therefore, Livingstone City Council wishes to emphasize the need for vendors to go back to the markets where facilities for the fight against COVID 19 are being provided. “Now that most of them have failed to obey the orders we have given them to go to their respective market places, Livingstone City Council police in a combined operation with the state police will swing into action and help all the street vendors to vacate the streets,” he said. Mr Mukela added that anyone who would be found selling their merchandise on the streets would be penalised.