Local Government and Rural Development Permanent Secretary Maambo Hamaundu has directed the Kitwe City Council to engage and resolve its impasse with aggrieved marketeers at Chisokone market by January 31, 2024.
This comes after a Kitwe City Council notice dated January 17, 2024, issued by Kitwe town clerk Patrick Kambita, urging traders at the front of the green market shelter at Chisokone market to leave by last Saturday, January 20, 2024, which was greeted with resistance.
Mr. Hamaundu says there is no need for the local authority and the 87 shop owners to fight, saying stakeholders must dialogue toward a solution that benefits everyone involved.
He explains that the land in question belongs to the Kitwe city council which is solely interested in completing a decent shelter with sanitation amenities and will prioritize the 87 sitting vendors once completed.
Mr. Hamaundu has however warned that government will not tolerate anybody inciting the marketeers against decisions meant to benefit the country and that he expects an amicable conclusion to allow the contractor to continue the project next month.
PHOENIX NEWS