Some residents of Emmasdale Township in Lusaka have called on government to closely monitor activities on the recently renamed Florida Blessings Street. The residents say that the intended idea of renaming the street was to help curb illicit activities but if authorities do not enforce the law, nothing much will change for the better. Last week, Government renamed the notorious Devil Street to Florida Blessing Street.

One of the residents, Emeldah Banda, said the illicit activities such as prostitution and drug abuse continued despite efforts to curb them. Ms Banda said a name change alone cannot change the activities. She said this should be followed up with proactive law enforcement. “The street has been given a blessing instead of devil, so activities should be those of a blessing, but this is not the case,” Ms Banda said.

“We haven’t seen any change since the street was renamed [a week ago] because all the activities are still devilish,” she said. Another resident, Chomba Mulenga, said most of the young girls and boys have joined prostitution and other illicit activities on the street. Mr Mulenga said if these activities continue, some children could grow up thinking that this is a normal way of life. He said the residents are optimistic that with the change of name, measures will be put in place to curb illicit activities.

He has called on authorities to quickly intervene and help save many young people. “Bars should be inspected and ensure that they do not admit the underage. Drug abusers should also be given stiff punishment so that they desist from the v