Council courts traders to end street vending
Mzuzu City Council (MCC) has urged the city’s main market vendors committee to help in chasing traders from the streets.
MCC chief executive officer McCloud Kadam’manja yesterday accused the committee of failing to stop fellow traders from flooding the streets.
He said the council has done its part to ensure the city does not have street vendors, saying their efforts are being hampered by businesspeople in the city’s main markets.
Said Kadam’manja: “Now you should pose that question to the vendors’ president. They have a committee. What have they done themselves to control fellow vendors? We expect the committee to control fellow vendors.
“We have done our part, what else do they require from the council? The problem is with the vendors themselves. The vendors’ committee is supposed to control fellow vendors.”
The city chief said the council cannot continue engaging in running battles with vendors.
However, Mzuzu market vendors’ secretary Franklin Hara dismissed Kadam’manja, saying traders go to markets to do business and not to drive away street vendors.
“They should just say they have failed. Do we come here to fight with street vendors? We come here to do business. It is the role of the council to bring sanity in the city, not us vendors.
“As vendors, we are not happy with what the city council is saying. We pay market fees so that we do businesses in a safe environment but they are failing to protect us. Our businesses are being affected and we are being blamed. They should admit they have failed,” said Hara.
