Malawi Local Government Association (Malga) has called on city councils to use force if necessary in dealing with street vending, which has become a nightmare for motorists, pedestrians and other business operators.
Illegal vending has proliferated in Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu central business districts (CBDs) and has remained unchecked for years.
Malga executive director Hadrod Mkandawire said in a written response yesterday that there were two stumbling blocks to arresting the problem, notably political interference in enforcement of city by-laws and inadequate enforcement mechanisms by the city councils.
He said city councils currently do not have their own law enforcers, commonly known as metropolitan police.
Said Mkandawire: “We fully support the use of force to enforce the law as we need to sanitise our cities. Going forward, we urge political elites to desist from interfering with enforcement of by-laws.
“Government has to seriously consider our proposal to introduce metropolitan police to enable the city councils employ their own police.”
Three of the country’s city councils, Mzuzu, Lilongwe and Zomba, said in separate interviews yesterday that they have embarked on sensitisation campaigns to curb street vending by relocating vendors to designated markets.
Mzuzu Ci ty Counci l spokesperson McDonald Gondwe said in an interview yesterday that they are already raising awareness following a resolution reached during a meeting with stakeholders last week.
He said the council is next Tuesday scheduled to hold a stakeholders meeting to review whether to use necessary force to relocate the vendors.
Said Gondwe: “The council is currently holding a sensitisation campaign for street vendors to relocate. The situation is chaotic. Apart from causing congestion, illegal vending has also compromised security.”
Lilongwe City Council chief executive officer Macloud Kadamanja said they are engaging stakeholders, including leaders of the vendors, who have asked for more time to get organised before urging their members to relocate.
“We have embarked on sensitising the vendors on the need to abide by the laws. Mgona Market vendors are some of those that moved from the railway line to a new market,” he said.
In a separate interview, Zomba City Council public relations officer Aubrey Moses said in an interview yesterday that their case has taken a positive turn as they have contained illegal vending by at least 70 percent.
He said in January 2025, the council engaged the Malawi Police Service on secondment, noting that the hiring of police officers has assisted in restoring order and sanity, especially in its CBD.
When contacted yesterday, Blantyre Ci ty Counci l spokesperson Deborah Luka said the council will announce its decision at a later date.
