A few weeks ago, Lilongwe City Council (LCC) woke up and realised some individuals had grown maize in locations where such activities are proscribed.
The council, to the chagrin of some people, slashed the crops when they were just a few days from maturity.
It was not that LCC officials were not aware that prohibited activities were taking place in the areas. They frequently move around the city to see how residents are living and must have seen the first seed being planted.
Apparently, the idea behind slashing the maize when it had already grown tall was to send a strong message that breaking the law is not something to be smiled at.
- Advertisement -
LCC wanted the people who had grown the maize to feel the ultimate pain by seeing their efforts being destroyed just days before they could harvest the crop.
- Advertisement -
While that would appear an ideal venture, it was possible for the council to destroy the crops immediately after they had germinated, before their illegal planters had even applied fertiliser or undertaken the arduous task of weeding.
Of course, the council said it had warned the individuals that their activities were illegal and that it would slash the maize when they least expected it.
There was also this other time the same LCC razed down shops of traders who had constructed structures in prohibited zones in Area 25.
At least, the council had warned the adamant individuals to empty the shops because the destruction would happen when they least expected it.
- Advertisement -
The construction projects had been going on for years. Even traditional leaders in the area had complained over the activities as they were taking place closer to a graveyard.
Well, finally, LCC cracked the whip and destroyed the buildings.
It was even possible for the council to prevent the developments even before any brick had been placed on top of another.
The same laws that it used to destroy the structures could be used in preventing them from being erected in the first place.
It is called proactive application of laws.
Of course, the pain to the owners of the buildings must have been harsher than it would be if they had been prevented from constructing the buildings in the first place.
Yet, the council would also have spared itself the trouble of raiding the area at night with bulldozers to take down structures which should not have been there at all had the same council acted decisively.
Two days ago, Blantyre City Council (BCC) descended on stalls constructed outside Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, attracting indignation from the affected vendors in the process.
Truth be said, the place was turned into a haven of chaos.
The widening of the road to the hospital was rendered useless because the vendors took up parts of the road where they placed their merchandise for sale.
It was chaotic.
Ambulances carrying critically ill patients had to slow down when approaching the place for fear of causing accidents.
BCC has done the right thing by destroying the vendors’ structures, but it would have been more prudent for the council to prevent the traders from invading the place at the very beginning.
In fact, chances are high that the vendors will return to the place because the structures that have been destroyed are not actual buildings after all. They were makeshift stalls which can be erected again any minute.
So by razing down the vendors’ stalls, BCC has not solved the problem. What the council needs to do is to prevent any illegal activities commencing in the first place in its jurisdiction.
That way, it will spare itself time, energy and money spent destroying something which should have been avoided in the first place.
But that is a very common trend in Malawi.
We have seen people constructing houses in road reserves only for the government to compensate them once it wants to expand the roads.
Yet, it is possible to stop the people from engaging in the developments at the very beginning.
There are laws that govern various situations, which are, unfortunately, never applied at the very beginning.
For instance, the law is clear regarding where people can place their merchandise for sale in the country’s towns and cities.
But, vendors are allowed to invade streets, leaving little room for both pedestrians and motorists.
All this happens because councils are sleepy and fail to act when they are supposed to.
