Chipata stakeholders seeks market solutions

Chipata stakeholders seeks market solutions

Chipata, February 20, ZANIS ——— Stakeholders in Chipata district this morning conducted a fact finding mission at Saturday market to find a solution to selling of merchandise on the road side.

The stakeholders which included Zambia Police, Road Development Agency (RDA) and Road Traffic and Safety Agency (RSTA) and the market master led by Chipata Town Clerk Ekan Chingangu visited Saturday market with a view to reason with the vendors selling at the entrance of the market and consuming space by the road side to go back to their stands in the market.

The marketers who mostly were agreeable that selling by the road side was a danger to their lives stated that moving inside had the challenge because their colleagues inside were refusing them.

And a maketeer, Loveness Kumwenda who has been selling at Saturday market since the UNIP era stated that all the vendors selling by the road side had benches inside the market.

Ms Kumwenda stated that it was up to the council to come up with measures to have the people back in the market.

Those selling in the market stated that they were not able to sell their goods because customers were intercepted at the entrance by those selling by the road side and market entrance.

And those selling within the market have vowed to relocate to the roadside if their colleagues do not move to the market because there was no business in the market.

“People prefer to buy from the street vendors, as a result, business is slow for those of us who are selling in the market,” they said.

But the stakeholders agreed to have committees in all the markets in Chipata district with a view to bringing sanity in the markets.

They requested the marketers to put in place committees which would represent them at stakeholders meetings if their challenges were to be appreciated.

The council would give all markets a period of two weeks to formulate committees.

And the council says it will draw a yellow line which is supposed to be a border line for pirate taxis to be operating on one side of Obote road.

Mr Chingangu observed that taxis were blocking the road because there was a car wash on both sides of the road while taxis were parked on the middle of the road, making it difficult for vehicles to pass as the road is made narrow.