BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)—Blantyre City Council on Monday imposed stringent measures to combat coronavirus by instituting a ban on street vending, weddings, parties and other social gatherings with immediate effect, making it the first city in the country to take the drastic action.
Addressing journalists at a briefing at the Civic Centre Offices on Monday March 30, 2020, mayor of Blantyre City Wild Ndipo said much as they are aware of the economic implications of the ban particularly on street vending, the issue of COVID-19 is a matter of life and death and as a council they cannot compromise on life.
“We ask for collaboration among all stakeholders in the implementation of this ban. Apart from relying on the police, we are also urging every resident in the city to take responsibility by reporting to authorities those who choose to defy the order.
“We will look into measures to make sure our markets are not crowded, we will observe church gatherings and shops to make sure they abide to the underlying prevention measures,” said Ndipo.
However, Maravi Post visit to Blantyre and Limbe markets on Tuesday found people doing business as usual in the city with some drinking joints very much congested.
Street vendor who spoke to this reporter said what the mayor ordered is only good for the rich people.
“If I don’t do this business who is going to feed my family? That order is good but we need to be assured of measures put in place to help us out when our sales dwindle,” he said.
Meanwhile, it is known how the police will be reacting to those found defying the orders.
Few days ago, police in Rwanda shot and killed two people for defying lockdown orders imposed by the government to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
On March 11, World Health Organisation announced that Covid-19 was a pandemic.
President Peter Mutharika on March 20 2020 declared the State of Disaster and set up a K15 billion fund to deal with the crisis. He also banned public gatherings and ordered closure of schools as part of drastic measures to cut densification.
Meanwhile, Malawi has no confirmed case of the deadly virus.
