By NOEL IYOMBWA
THE Informal Sector Community Response Team (ISCRT) has continued contributing towards the fight against Covid-19 panedmic.
ISCRT consists of Commuters Rights Association of Zambia,Bus and Taxi Drivers Association of Zambia,Organised Vendors Traders Multi-Purpose Corporative Society and the Southern Africa Cross Borders Traders Association of Zambia.
The consortium, working in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, has so far distributed 8,000 facemasks to market and bus stations.
Jeffrey Katoposha, a representative from the organizations, said that they have distributed to City Market and Lumumba bus station.
He said that the consortium decided to distribute to markets and bus stations because that is where compliance levels still remain a challenge, adding that it is important that marketeers mask up.
Consortium chairperson, Mr Aron Kamuti observed that there is a serious challenge of compliance among the general public.
He said that commuters are not adhering to the guidelines hence the inniative to distribute the mask.
Team coordinator Pascal Chikumbi said that the team is elated by the level of adherence being demonstrated or implemented by all Chain Stores located in various Shopping Malls, other trading stores and Corporate Institutions towards COVID-19.
“Unfortunately, our people in informal Sector such as Bus Stations, Markets, Street Vendors, Bus Drivers and Conductors are not doing much to compel passengers and customers respectively to mask-up before and during any interaction or transaction,” he said.
“This is the reason why as IS-CRT started a Robust COVID-19 Community sensitization and distribution of face masks which were complimented by Ministry of Health.
In the course of distribution through Market Managers, Market Committee Chairpersons and Bus Station Drivers committees, we will prioritize distributing to the most vulnerable within such gatherings and then to the rest of people,” Mr Chikumbi said.
He said that the team strongly feels that the exercise will play a pivotal role in raising awareness amongst people in Markets and Bus stations where compliance towards COVID-19 preventive guidelines is and has been extremely low.
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