Vendors haunt cities, vow to resist removal

Vendors plying their trade in undesignated areas in the country’s cities have vowed to resist attempts to remove them from the cities’ central business districts unless they are given alternative sites.

Their sentiments come after Blantyre City Council officials and vendor representatives met on Wednesday at the council’s civic offices to find a lasting solution to the problem.

The meeting followed a moratorium to expel Blantyre street vendors that expired on Wednesday this week after protracted disagreements between vendors and law enforcers last year.

For reasons ranging from orderliness and tidiness to the enhancement of city security, relevant authorities have for years discussed the removal of vendors albeit with little success as the traders keep going back to the streets.

The Nation spot-checks on the streets of Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu cities this week showed that vendors of retail merchandise such as electronic accessories, fresh fruits and vegetables and clothing plying their trade there cite a lack of space in the existing markets and tough economic times.

Alexander James Juwawo, 37, of Mbayani Township in Blantyre, who sells shop items Blantyre streets, told The Nation that he simply wants to feed his family.

“Since when has making a living been a crime?” wondered Juwawo, adding that officials should understand that there are no jobs in the country as such, vending has become the only source of livelihood for most people.

“We expect those who make decisions on our behalf to appreciate the dynamics in this country. There are no jobs in this country. We do what we have to do to survive, even if it means selling on the streets.”

Mushrooms vendor Patuma Nelson, 35, from Mbayani Township said customers rarely go to designated markets, prompting most flea market vendors to compete for a place on the streets.

She further said politicians should worry about chasing them from the streets when the campaign period for the 2025 Tripartite Elections.

Chimwemwe Manyamba, 37, of Chemusa in Blantyre, said city officials should grant them places where their business can thrive, failing which they will not leave the streets.

However, in an interview yesterday, Blantyre City Council director of administration Lyton Nkata confirmed the meeting with vendors where it was resolved that illegal traders in both Limbe and Blantyre will be moved to designated markets.

He, however, did not specify the time this will happen saying, “the outcomes and agreements of the meeting will be officially communicated to all stakeholders in due course”.

But in a separate interview on Wednesday, Blantyre Flea Market vice-chairperson Cassim Chisakaniza said they resolved to engage street vendors diplomatically.

Despite city councils’ hardline stance of clamping down on street vendors nationwide, they still defy the orders amid erratic law enforcement, compelling councils to take softer approaches.

Lilongwe City Council chief executive officer Mac Cloud Kadam’manja has said the council held meetings with the vendors’ leadership. The agreement was that the two parties should move together in resolving the issue.

He said the council has taken a consultative approach and they are doing groundwork first where among other things the council has opened markets in Area 25 and Area 21.

By doing this, Kadammanja said, the council would prevent unnecessary running battles with the vendors.

He said: “We want these vendors to move into these designated places, but if any of them defy this, we shall resort to using the law to have them removed from the streets.”

He, also said, the council is considering closing some roads specified time where vendors can move in and do business.

In Mzuzu, the streets are clear during the day, but vendors crowd the streets late afternoon to service those knocking off from work.

Previously, the Mzuzu City Council introduced a night shift market between 6pm and 9pm, but spokesperson McDonald Gondwe yesterday said this stopped after two months.

“We had requests that we have to put up security lights but also sanitation facilities. This is in the pipeline,” he said.

Street vending has become an eyesore in recent years and some pickpockets have taken advantage of the congestion created.

For fresh food vendors, some observers have also queried the level of their hygiene as the places lack running water and toilets.

Politicians have also been blamed for allegedly fanning the situation by interfering in city councils’ efforts to enforce by-laws stopping street vending.