Now Kyawama market deserted

By JACKSON MAPAPAYIFOR two days now, business at Kyawama market in Solwezi is still paralysed after the weekend rioting which left four police officers and eight civilians injured.A check by the Daily Nation yesterday found that the usually-busy market was deserted while police officers patrolled the area.The council earth-moving equipment was busy demolishing all makeshift stands situated along the road.Solwezi Mayor, Nicholas Mukumbi, said move to raze down makeshift stands was meant to force all those trading along the road to get inside the market.He said traders had opted to trade on the roadside, literally occupying one side of the road which was not only a safety hazard but also unhealthy.Mr Mukumbi said in wake of COVID-19, there was need for people to trade in a clean and safe environment.The council, he said, had created trading spaces for all traders inside the market and a space for a car park but that people opted to trade along the road.“That is why we decided to fence off the area, but some selfish individuals started giving out spaces to traders which now culminated into most of traders coming to display their merchandise along the road,” he explained.Mr Mukumbi said that now that the area was cleared, the local authority would revert to its initial plan of segmenting the market.“We will ensure that the carpark operates as a carpark, those trading in hardware should be in one place, livestock, vegetables, second hand clothes, all of them in different places so that it will be easy even for the people that come to buy,” he explained.Meanwhile, Mr Mukumbi has appealed to the provincial administration to expedite the process of relocating the main bus station to the former UBZ garage.He said the current bus station was too small as the town was now receiving over 40 buses every day which he said was a health hazard especially in wake of Covid19.“As a local authority, we are very much ready to mobilise the resources and make the area habitable,” he said.