Govt to assess proposal to punish street side buyers

Minister of Local Government, Unity and Culture Richard Chimwendo Banda says government will assess a proposal to have legislation that penalises street merchandise buyers to tackle illegal vending in the cities.

He said this yesterday during the Lilongwe City Summit, a gathering where the city’s residents, business people and other stakeholders brainstormed how to tackle challenges facing the city.

Organised by the Lilongwe City Council, the discussions centred on how to address poor waste management, poor infrastructure and street vending which is causing insecurity on the roads of the capital city.

The minister said: “As a ministry, we never thought about it but during this summit, the citizens are saying as the vendors sell their merchandise there are also people that buy. The citizens are saying we should look at how we can punish both.”

Chimwendo Banda said his ministry will consult legal experts on the feasibility of punishing the buyers as well.

“Our response is that we should consult the legal minds whether that is supposed to happen in that manner. The issue is the vendors cannot continuously sell the merchandise in the streets if citizens come together and say we will not buy from the streets,” he said.

Meanwhile, the minister has said government is introducing laws that will lead to the setting up of municipal police to strengthen the enforcement of law and order in cities.

He added that he expects the police to be operational in the next six months.

Chimwendo-Banda has said that a review they have done shows that in countries whose cities have municipal police, “security improves, traffic management improves and adherence to by-laws improves”.

Meanwhile, delegates to the summit have resolved to come up with comprehensive solutions to various challenges facing the city within the next six months.

Lilongwe City Mayor Richard Banda said the summit will help the council to serve the residents better.

“Each director has been given a target and within three months they should implement it without excuses. That is why this summit is very crucial,” he said.

Asked if they have resources to improve on service delivery in sanitation and infrastructural development such as improving the road network, the mayor said they are relying on partners.

“On our own we cannot manage to implement the strategies. That is why we are asking stakeholders to support us so that whatever we discussed here should be implemented,” he said.

Evangelical Association of Malawi’s Ethics, Peace and Justice Commission chairperson Reverend Zacc Kawalala hailed the summit as hope inducing for the city.

However, he said the summit, which cost millions of kwacha, should not have been conducted, if the office-bearers were professional and responsible.

The city summits were the brainchild of Chimwendo Banda’s predecessor Professor Blessings Chinsinga to provide platforms for councils to interact with citizens on how to improve service delivery.