TUJILIJILI TRADERS WILL ONE DAY RUN – WARNS GOVT

By ADRIAN MWANZA

MINISTRY of Local government and Rural Development Permanent Secretary Mambo Hamaundu has said that the Government is going to conduct raids on individuals that are trading in illicit beer commonly known as Tujilijili.

Mr. Hamaundu in an interview said that he was aware of the growing concern as most people were conducting business less than five meters away from the rail line which posed a very serious risk.

Mr. Hamaundu said business was not just about making money but also considering the welfare of their customers.

He said that people’s lives were at stake and that most risked being run over by a train because they were ever in a drunken state.

“We have noticed this concern and as a Government, we have for some time engaged them but from what I’m seeing this trend has continued to grow,” he said.

He said that he hoped that the traders would do the right thing by stopping this trade and even going to designated areas of trading.

He said that his government would not sit and wait for people to lose lives before they could move in and emphasised that life was more important.

“They are trading on Zambia Railways land and looking at the distance they should be at least more than 50 meters away from the rail,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary said the Government will this year commence works on a number of feeder roads countrywide in order to increase accessibility to these areas.

He said that the Government was targeting enhanced delivery of relief food to these areas that might have been severely affected by droughts.

He however said that the project would not just be limited to feeder roads but also township roads in selected Townships.

He said that Towns like Kitwe, Ndola, Solwezi, Choma, Sinazongwe and Mazabuka had been earmarked to have roads worked on.