STATE AND COUNCIL POLICE CLEANUP LUSAKA CBD

Street vendors conducting business in the Central Business District in Lusaka this morning woke up to a rude shock after a combined team of state and Lusaka City Council police swung into action in the early hours of today, demolishing some makeshift stands in a cleanup exercise.

The street vendors conducting business in the CBD and selected roads in the city have complained about the presence of state and council police who are cleaning the CBD without any notice.

The vendors talked to by Phoenix News have expressed displeasure at the disruption of business which has been caused by the cleanup exercise.

They have further complained that their trading stands have been dislocated without being warned by the relevant authorities, saying they would have prepared themselves for the cleanup had they been informed prior about to the exercise.

And commenting on the cleanup exercise, Alliance for Zambian Informal Economy Association Secretary General Lameck Kashiwa has bemoaned the manner in which the exercise has been carried out as this has rendered many street vendors into unforeseen losses.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Local Government Permanent Secretary for Administration, Mambo Hamaundu has explained that the clean-up exercise in the CBD is a normal operation meant to restore the usage of public assets and for the safety of the traders and the general public.