By Mercy Kawenga-MEC Stringer
Nambuma market Vendors in Dowa, on Wednesday, held a peaceful demonstration against the decision by the Dowa District Council of raising the market fee with 100% from MK100 to MK200.
The demonstration is happening at the time when the council announced the introduction of the Electronic Ticketing system of collecting market fees starting from July,1 this year.
But, Dowa District Council’s chair, Councilor Precious Chaguza Kambuzi, has said the decision has since been reversed saying Vendors will still be paying the usual K100 market fee .
The vendors presented their petition to the Nambuma police Unit, accusing the council of not consulting them and giving them convincing reasons as to why it has reached at this decision of raising market fee to MK200.
In the petition, they cited poor sanitation in the markets, their market being a sub standard one with no toilets and portable water saying all these need justification.
The angry Vendors threatened to hold another demonstration and present a petition to the District Commissioner’s office if the council continues with its decision of raising market fee with similar demo’s being planned by Mponela and Dowa boma market Vendors.
But, speaking in an interview, Dowa District Council’s chair, Councilor Precious Chaguza Kambuzi, admitted that the council indeed raised the market fee effective July1, this year.
Chaguza Kambuzi refused to shed some light as he heard of the vendors demonstrating against the decision of hiking market fees saying his office is yet to receive the petition.
However, Kambuzi said, so far, the council has reversed its decision of hiking the market fee saying it needs to sit down discussing with the vendors on the way forward for the matter to be resolved amicably.
But, speaking at one of the previous full council meeting, Dowa South East parliamentarian, Harry Njoka Chipeni, pleaded with the secretariat to explain what it does with the revenues collected from the markets observing that the council is failing to build toilets in its markets including a public toilet at a busy Mponela trading centre market in the district.
Njoka expressed a surprise as to why the Dowa District Council was voted number one in revenue collections in the 2015/16 financial year of all the councils in Malawi while the same is failing to pay its junior workers in time and building toilets in its markets.