By Isaac Salima:
Street vendors who ply their trade outside Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre Wednesday protested Blantyre City Council (BCC)’s decision to demolish their structures.
On Tuesday night, BCC agents destroyed benches which vendors were using for selling merchandise.
And, in protest, the vendors blocked the road to the hospital with burning tires and other stuff.
They accused the council of treating them unfairly.
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One of the traders, Gift Lemani, said they were caught unawares by the council’s decision.
“Council officials first told us to stop vending at the place. We then went to meet them and they gave us five days to leave the place. We discussed the matter further with them and they changed tune by telling us to start paying city rates so that we are given licences. We contributed funds and paid the money. We are, therefore, surprised that our structures have been destroyed,” Lemani said.
BCC publicist Deborah Luka referred us to the council’s chief executive officer Dennis Chinseu, who did not pick up his phone when we contacted him.
Meanwhile, commentators have called on stakeholders to find a lasting solution to disagreements between council officials and business operators over vending sites.
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“We have vendors who are fighting for vending places, which are not adequate in the first place. The population of vendors is growing but places that were designated for various markets remain the same. It is high time the country invested in this sector. One thing we can do is to follow in the footsteps of advanced countries, which have constructed multi-storey office buildings to ensure that there is order when people and firms are conducting business,” said Chimwemwe Tsitsi, who is a governance commentator.
On his part, Indigenous Business Association of Malawi President Mike Mlombwa, while imploring government to build more markets for vendors, said the authorities should take a hard stance on illegal vending.
