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KITWE Traders REFUSE To Pay New MARKET LEVIES
MARKETEERS in Kitwe have refused to pay the revised market levies despite the local authority threatening to take punitive action against them.
Early this month, the Kitwe City Council (KCC) revised market levies, in a bid to increase revenue collection but the move has angered market associations.
KCC acting public relations manager Dorothy Sampa said in an interview in Kitwe on Tuesday, that council officers are facing resistance from traders who have refused to pay the revised market levies.
Ms Sampa, however, said council management on Monday held a closed door meeting to find a solution to the controversy surrounding the revised market levies.
“Right now, our officers are not collecting anything from the markets because of the resistance from marketeers. The local authority held a meeting yesterday (Monday) to try and find the best possible way of resolving the problem surrounding the new market levies,” Ms Sampa said.
She said the local authority will this week convene a full council meeting to chart the way forward.
And Zambia Traders and Marketeers Association general secretary Chrispin Musunka said marketeers will not comply with the council’s directive to pay increased market levies unless the council holds a consultative stakeholders meeting.
Mr Musunka said the marketeers are demanding accountability in the use of the funds the council collects in market levies.
He said marketeers will soon form a taskforce to monitor the revenue the local authority collects from the markets and how the funds are used.
“What is lacking is transparency in the use of the funds KCC collects from markets. We need to know how much they collect every month and what they do with the funds because our markets are still in a deplorable state,” Mr Musunka said.
He alleged that the local authority has failed to engage market associations to discuss the increased market levies, despite them being important stakeholders.
Mr Musunka said market associations are like unions in the formal sector as they represent the welfare of marketeers.
And the Zambia National Marketeers Association president Elvis Nkandu also said marketeers can only pay the revised market levies if KCC agrees to hold a meeting with them, to build consensus.
Posted by
alien
January 19, 2012 at 12:08 pm
just bcum vendors they dont pay any useless tax
Amano mambulwa
January 19, 2012 at 12:16 pm
Even Elvis Nkandu is still holding the same position,,shit!i thought he has gone back to congo where he hails from.
pharaoh
January 19, 2012 at 12:21 pm
what would the market be without the marketeers!! consideration should first be put on bettering market conditions. the General Secretary is right let there be light in the operations of the council.
Ayatollah
January 19, 2012 at 12:38 pm
LCC declared that they collect ZMK600M from Intercity every month alone. KCC must also declare what they are currently collecting and what they intend to collect with the upward adjustment and how they intend to spend it. When you look at Chisokone Market, KCC should be ashamed to even collect any levies there. It’s pathetic, to say the least. What they need to do is to employ a market master with requisite professional qualifications like ACCA or MBA, etc. They should also employ a stations manager with the same or similar qualifications. These two business activities alone can employ over 1000 employees, which the entire KCC currently has. Funds currently collected from these institutions end up in wrong hands. It is unthinkable that KCC employees can go for 3 months without salaries! They are not on strike because they are either helping themselves from the same money or are running tuntemba within the same markets. You don’t have to wait for Nkandu Luo(no relationship with Elvis) to tell you what to do. If you don’t know how to go about it, ask me
What the hell
January 19, 2012 at 1:34 pm
Kitwe City council should get there act together. They cannot just walk into Chisokone and expect to do whatever they want without asking the people there. Increasing the levys will only worsen an already bad situation there. Just have a meeting with the market stakeholders and this problem will sorted out. Take a walk into the before you pass any directive. Ask your health department and they will tell you what a mess and a harzard the market is. It is a miracle cholera has not broken out. If you want to beautify Kitwe start with Chisokone Market and then go elsewhere.
What the hell
January 19, 2012 at 1:45 pm
The council does not need to import a plan for the entire market. It has competent town planners, surveyors, inspectors and architects who can design a good and beautiful for the city of Kitwe. Put them to task and I can asure you that they will do a good job. We do not need to import anymore. We have enough intellectuals in Zambia. Let us result their abilities and them to the task. The country did not educate them to go and work in other countries. Pay them what you would pay an expatriate and you won’t be disappointed.
Lundazi Dweller
January 19, 2012 at 1:46 pm
The begining of lawlessness. The desire for free things in Zambia is overwhelming. It must be realised that the formal sector is still less than 1 million and these are the people providing money for services through PAYE for 13 million people. Marketeers must also contribute. If Zambia is to develop everyone must realise that there is nothing for free.
chips
January 19, 2012 at 1:58 pm
Its just K1.500 per day mwe bantu they have increased fm K500!!Why the chaos?This is just a sign of lawlessness.They are just taking advantage of King cobra…he wil zanda soon.
Ayatollah
January 19, 2012 at 1:59 pm
@Lundazi Dweller, they don’t want free things. They are demanding accountability. The council has gone to sleep. They don’t see why they should pay when they trade in such an unhealthy place. What happens to the money the council collects if they are unable plough back a percentage for cleaning and garbage collection?
CIC
January 19, 2012 at 3:43 pm
Pls leave those people at k500. why increase now. our councils are dishosnesty. go and levy vendors
Mukombe
January 19, 2012 at 4:38 pm
This is indeed anarchy just pay free things are long gone. You want development pay your levies, then tell the council what the are not doing you will be justified.
Gen.Gredenko
January 19, 2012 at 4:43 pm
KCC can not increase the market levy because government has increased annual grants to council by 100 percent.They should push Prof.Luo for their grants and stop harassing marketeers.
What the hell
January 19, 2012 at 5:18 pm
The should not increase the levy because the conditions are not worth the money they are asking. They have survived without this levy so why increase it before they get it. This is extra income to them. Let it remain the same until after 6 months of review from both the marketeers and the council then both parties can seat down and map the forward, as for now it is unfair for the levy to be increased. By the way it not for free, the council is still being given money. Remember that street vending has been allowed by the president so income has greatly reduced in the markets causing the refusal to pay from marketeers.
GUNDA
January 19, 2012 at 5:30 pm
IF DEMANDING 4 TRANSPARENCY AMOUNTS 2 ANARCHY,I DONT KNOW WERE WE GO!LET KCC PUT ITS HOUSE IN ORDER FIRST!NOW THAT YOU CAN NO LONGER STEAL FROM GOVT,YOU WANT TO STEAL FROM POOR MARKETEERS.SHAME ON U BA KABOLALA!!BRAVO MARKETEERS
Michael kaoma
January 19, 2012 at 6:02 pm
The question is not the increase in levies,but rather the transparency in the levies collected.
The councils make a lot of money from levies,however,service delivery stil remains non-existent.
An example,is luanshya,where fake duplicate receipts are used in the markets and stations.
Councils are the most corrupt organs of government,and measures must first be introduced to curb fraudulent activities in council revenue collection before they make poor marketeers subsidise their inefficiencies.
zambian
January 19, 2012 at 6:10 pm
this is more money in your pocket era,why releasing it anyway?its pf manifesto.
Babygal
January 19, 2012 at 6:12 pm
Its not only KCC who are misusing funds even chingola and ndola councils these pipo are abusing the authority and government resources, i dont think da r audited, saralyz in councilz dependz on who is yo sex partner if its boss da yo saraly will be high if not lower, our relatives working for these institutionz have suffered and the so called nkandu luo should address the problem facing councilz on da copperbelt serious.
chimuka
January 20, 2012 at 7:52 am
bravo marketeers, we r in this together. i think now our govt has to prov to us why we voted for them. in chililabombwe ryt now kcm employees hav downed tools following rumours that increment this yr is only 9%. both 3 and 1 shafts operations are affected.howeva situation is calm as employees demand the union to address them.
positive
January 20, 2012 at 11:32 pm
More money in people’s pockets, donchi kubeba at work.
chishla
February 3, 2013 at 4:50 pm
yes.they ve got a right to refuse,chisokone market is filled with dirty & kcc is doing nothing that we the public frm other towns cant see.kcc challenge us by imprving yo market condition.