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Limbe Vendors Complain Over Alleged Business Space Corruption

Part of Limbe market Part of Limbe market - pic by Andrew Maneya

Vendors at Limbe market in Blantyre are bitter over alleged corrupt practices by some chairpersons who are allegedly demanding between K40, 000 to K200, 000 kwacha to access a single space for business.

“When you want to get a space to start vending, they charge you 40,00 kwacha per space, if you are absent for some days due to sickness and other reasons they take and sell the space to another person.

“When you want to resume business, they also force you to pay another 40,000 to get a space yet we pay city rates every day,” she said.

But Limbe Market Chairperson for the Central, Newton Manyokondo, denies the accusation claiming that they do not force people to pay anything, insisting that they give them money on their own as a token of appreciation for providing them space for business.

“We don’t demand money from any vendor who wants to do business in Limbe market, when one wants a place, we just show him or her to start their business.

“But they just give us money as a way of thanking us for giving them a place for business,” Manyokondo said.

Commenting on the matter, the Director of commerce at Blantyre City council, Davis Chinseu, has asked people to report such corrupt practices to authorities for appropriate action.

“The starting point is to visit our offices within the markets that we have. We have people that look after the markets, those are the people that are going to help them find an appropriate place for business without paying any fees,” Chinseu insisted.

Meanwhile, Chinseu has advised business peoples to work with market masters when they want a place for business to avoid such illegal practices by unauthorized people.

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