Govt to appoints boards to run markets, bus stations

Thu, 23 Feb 2017 11:34:42 +0000

BY OSCAR MALIPENGA

GOVERNMENT, through the Ministry of Local Government, has appointed management boards which will in turn manage and control markets and bus stations in line with clause 13 (1) of the Markets and Bus Stations Act.

Minister of Local Government Vincent Mwale told Parliament in a ministerial statement that the intervention was envisaged to eliminate the undesirable influence of the various political troupes in the management of markets and bus stations.

He said the intervention would also ensure adequate revenue collections for local authorities.

Mr Mwale said where a particular markets and bus station would be managed by a management board the overall responsibility and control shall lie with the local authority with territorial jurisdiction.

“Mr Speaker, I am happy to report that this process has already

commenced and is expected to be concluded in the next three months,” Mr Mwale said.

He stated that according to 5 (2) of the Markets and Bus Stations Act No, 7 of 2007 markets and bus stations could be managed either by local authority directly or through a management board.

Meanwhile, Mr Mwale has warned individuals who own bus stations in private hands that the law does not permit any entity or individual to establish and operate a bus station except in partnership with a concerned local authority and with the approval of the minister in-charge of local government.

He explained that the warning was in accordance with clause 6 (1) of the Markets and Bus Stations Act No. 7 of 2007.

But Roan PF Member of Parliament Chishimba Kambwili wondered how Government would handle the warning because there were a lot of individuals who owned bus stations.

In his response, Mr Mwale insisted that the law did not allow individuals to own bus stations without the approval of his ministry.

Meanwhile, Mr Mwale told Members of Parliament to ignore a statement alleged to have been made by secretary general Davis Mwila while in Kabwe and only consider his ministerial statement as Government’s official position.