Africa-Press – Zambia. Lusaka Province Permanent Secretary Elias Kamanga has urged the local authorities to take advantage of the President elect Hakainde Hichilema’s pronouncement to take over the markets and bus stations so that they can maximise their revenue base.
Mr Kamanga told journalist at a media briefing in Lusaka today that the Lusaka City Council should start deploying their officers in the markets and bus stations for them to start collecting taxes.
Mr Kamanga has warned that no carders of any political party should be seen collecting taxes and that only the councils have the responsibility to do so.
He said so far council cashiers through the Lusaka City Council have been positioned in all the markets and bus stations and are ready to start collecting taxes.
“We must ensure that the pronouncement made by the President elect to have markets and bus stations run by the council is actualised,” he said.
Mr. Kamanga said local authorities should go ahead and implement the markets and bus station act to ensure that they collect enough revenue for their operation to avoid the dependence on the central government.
He noted that when cadres leave the markets and bus stations a vacancy will be created and hence the need for local authorities to be proactive in deploying their staff to run them.
Meanwhile, Mr Kamanga has condemned the continued damaging of properties in markets and bus stations after the declaration of the seventh republican President elect Hakainde Hichilema.
Mr Kamanga stated that Lusaka Administration is disappointed with the fights and damaging of property by political party cadres. “The President elect has given very clear instruction that no political party cadres should fight each other,” he said.
