DAILY MAIL - Street Vendors, Labour Relations, Chiefs
LCC spends K200m to remove vendorsBy KALUBA BWALYA
LUSAKA City Council (LCC) has spent more than K200 million on recent operations to remove vendors from the streets. LCC public relations manager, Chanda Mankanta, said in an interview that the expenditure was a huge blow to the meagre resources of the council and that management was concerned with this high expenditure. "We are spending alot of money to chase vendors from the streets instead of using the funds on other important areas that needed attention such as garbage collection and the procurement of street lights," Ms Mankanta said.
She said the issue of building another market for the vendors should not arise because there were unoccupied markets. She said she had inspected some markets around town where grass had even grown because they were no people operating from there. She said the situation was now getting out of hand and the council would get tougher to control vending in the city.
Ms Makanta said there was need to end the problem of street vending because the vice was costing the council millions of its limited resources.
http://www.daily-mail.co.zm/press/news/viewnews.cgi?category=3&id=1128063253
State warns foreign investors
By KANGWA MULENGA
GOVERNMENT has warned that it will not tolerate any foreign investors engaging in acts of casualisation of labour. In an interview yesterday, Minister of Labour and Social Security, Ronald Mukuma, said Government was concerned with the increasing casualisation in the private sector.
Mr Mukuma said his ministry was beefing up its inspection department to ensure that casualisation was brought under control. "Casualisation is very rife in the country and government is concerned, I am urging foreign investors not to entertain the practice. Workers must be employed on full time because Government will not allow any investor to promote casualisation," Mr Mukuma said.
He said most of the companies were not respecting the country's labour laws. The minister said Government would soon commence regular inspections aimed at stamping out casualisation. "Most of the companies are practicing casualisation. They are running away from paying things like terminal benefits and other requirements as required by law and as Government, we want to stamp out this practice," he said.
Mr Mukuma said Government would soon put measures in place aimed at making foreign investors fully understand the Labour Act before investment licences were issued to them. The minister said casualisation was affecting the stability of the labour force.
He said the ministry would soon embark on sensitisation programmes aimed at making investors understand the dangers of casualisation. "Companies should not think that casualisation is cost-saving. It’s actually expensive because casual workers do not fully protect company property, because there is no sense of ownership," Mr Mukuma said.
http://www.daily-mail.co.zm/press/news/viewnews.cgi?category=8&id=1152779360
‘Tribal wrangles to frustrate oil, gas explorations’
By KELVIN CHONGO in Solwezi
A TRADITIONAL leader in North-Western Province has warned that endemic wrangles between Lundas and Luvales in the province would frustrate oil and gas exploration. Senior Chief Ndungu, of the Luvale people, said the wrangles that were outstanding would scare aware investors from setting up oil and gas investments in Chavuma. “The Luvales and Lundas are always fighting each other and the fight never seem to come to an end. This has made the environment not conducive for investment,” he said
He said the fights might frustrate the foreigners who are to invest millions of dollars. Chief Ndungu said the two tribes have been fighting each other since time immemorial and that the cause of the fights was not known. He said efforts towards resolving the Lunda-Luvale wrangles have been futile. Chief Ndungu said the royal establishments in the province appreciated Government’s efforts in trying to uplift the living standards of the people. He said development would not be effective in the province if the wrangles continued. “We should take a leaf from the Nigerian experience where in all oil-rich states people have been killing one another. We don’t want this happen to Zambia,” he said.
Meanwhile North-Western Province Minister, Kenneth Chipungu, has challenged Zambians to participate in the exploration of oil and gas that has been discovered in Chavuma. Mr Chipungu hoped that when Government floats the tenders for exploration, Zambians, especially the local people, would participate. Mr Chipungu said the local people must not wait for foreign investors to take up the initiative of establishing oil companies but must partner with them. “We have the capacity as Zambians to put up oil companies that would benefit all Zambians,” he said.
Mr Chipungu also disclosed that uranium has been discovered in the ore bodies at the Lumwana Mine. He said the uranium deposits would be separately mined during the copper mining operations. Mr Chipungu was briefing the press yesterday after announcing postponement of the Vice-President’s tour of Lumwana and Kansanshi mines and the resettlement areas for flood victims in the province.
Labels: CHIEFS, LABOUR, LCC, MARKETEERS
posted by MrK @ 3:32 PM
2 Comments:
Comment on streetvendors - Obviously this issue should have been resolved to the satifaction of all parties involved. And of course not a peep from the western media, unlike a similar exercise in Zimbabwe.
However, the fact that $50,000 represents a huge amount of money for LCC, only goes to show that local goverment must be funded from national revenues. There would be more than enough money available, if the LCC received $1 million for every 30,000 inhabitants.
The first step is going to be to stop and see street vending and vendors as 'a vice'. These are people who are trying to make a living, delivering a service to the public.
Every city should have a large market place at or near the center of town, where they can have access customers and sell their wares in a free manner.
Comment on Chiefs - This is one reason why I wouldn't be convinced that chiefs are the way to go when it comes to development. They just want the investment dollar, and they are not actually developing their own areas. They own the resources, so go to financiers, not investors, hire a mining company, and keep all the profits for the people in your chiefdom. But no, this is an attempt to sell cheap concessions instead. Not development, but exploitation.
On Street Vending - wouldn't it be great if every city had a large market for vendors. Around that market, you could have real shops, bars, etc. where shoppers could relax, get a drink, etc. There would be an integration of vendors and more established businesses.
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