The decision by the Kitwe City Council (KCC) to remove street vendors from the Central Business District (CBD) will not work, United Party for National Development (UPND) Copperbelt Provincial Chairman Elisha Matambo has said.
Speaking in Kitwe Mr. Matambo said that public officers intended to frustrate government efforts to uplift the living standards of the people and urged them to remain professional and ethical as they executed their duties.
He dismissed assertions that the UPND government had issued a directive to remove street vendors from the CBD.
He urged the Local Authority to first find alternative trading spaces for the vendors before executing plans to remove them from the CBD.
Mr. Matambo was reacting after KCC Town Clerk Mbulo Seke who directed all street vendors to vacate the CBD on Monday.
He noted that Street vendors should be allowed to continue trading in the CBD until a time when the UPND government through the local authorities secures trading spaces for them in designated trading areas.
Mr. Matambo stated that it is illogical and unfair to remove people trading on the streets without providing them with alternative trading spaces.
The Provincial Chairperson said that one of the reasons the people of the Copperbelt overwhelmingly voted for President Hakainde Hichilem and the UPND was to see an improvement in their welbeing.
He said it was for this reason that the party would not entertain any mistreatment of the people in the Province.
Mr. Matambo however urged the council to ensure they put in place safety and health measures that street vendors would comply with until alternative trading spaces were made available for them.
He also urged the public officers in the province to take time and assimilate the UPND manifesto so that it became easy for them to understand the programs and policies that the new administration had for the people.
