Goliati Vendors Boycott Market Fees Over Refuse

A heap of refuse piled up since 2017 A heap of refuse piled up since 2017 - Picture:Luka Beston

Vendors at Goliati market in Thyolo are boycotting paying daily fees from Monday this week to force the district council to collect refuse which they claim have piled up since 2017.

The market's chairperson, Richard Mukota, told Zodiak Online on Thursday that this is the last resort after they had been engaging the authorities through various avenues but to no avail.

Mukota added that at some point the council told the vendors committee to find a contractor to do the job, but there was no continuity on the matter.

"We have been writing and engaging the Thyolo District Council since 2017 to collect the piled up refuse but nothing happened. They had been coming on several occasions just to take pictures and go. So we fear the garbage may turn the market into a bleeding ground for cholera outbreak," Mukota explained.

But, acting Thyolo district council environmental officer, Witness Mbendera, says they are working to have the proper dumping site at the market.

"We are planning to engage the area's village headman to identify piece of land for a dumping site since the owner of the one vendors identified three months ago, wanted the compensation which is not readily available", he said.

This comes as the Thyolo District council is also struggling to pay its direct employees and revenue collectors the salaries and gratuity close to a year now, owing to revenue under-collection.

Last week, vendors in Nsanje and Nkhotakota also stopped paying the market fees over similar grounds.

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