Teta explains MMD cadres’ attack of LCC workers at New Soweto Market

Teta explains MMD cadres’ attack of LCC workers at New Soweto Market
Written by Mwala Kalaluka
Monday, March 30, 2009 7:04:16 AM

LOCAL government and housing minister Benny Tetamashimba yesterday said MMD cadres were compelled to take action against the Soweto Market Development Committee because it was full of greedy characters.

And Tetamashimba said the allocation of stalls at the New Soweto Market has been nullified following the recent disturbances that have occurred during the process.

During a press briefing held at his office yesterday, Tetamashimba said the MMD cadres behaved the way they did because some members of the committee had allocated more stalls to themselves.

Tetamashimba was asked by journalists to comment on the behaviour of the ruling party cadres who harassed some Lusaka City Council officials over the allocation of stalls at the new market last Friday.

“I believe that we have condemned people doing that and they were doing that because they suspected those people of allocating more stalls to themselves,” Tetamashimba said. “For example, I have got this one, he gave himself four shops and two salaula shops and that one there, five shops and a restaurant, everyone of them. I do not think that is correct…when you are given an opportunity to share with people, you can't give yourself six stalls. Now the ministry is going to advertise, people are going to come for interviews here. We are going to look at the register of the people who were chased from that place and only when we discover that there are more stalls now, those are the ones we are going to give the outsiders.”

And Tetamashimba said all those in possession of offer letters for stalls at the New Soweto Market should surrender them to the Lusaka City Council in view of the nullification.

“This nullification has been caused by the discovery that members of the Soweto Market Development Committee misled the Ministry into allocating multiple stalls to the market representatives at the expense of deserving marketeers,” said Tetamashimba. “In order to increase transparency and fair play, I have disbanded the Soweto Market Development Committee with immediate effect.”