Lusaka council’s ‘operation clear path’ only forcing poverty out of sight, not solving it —M’membe

Until the council demonstrates that, M’membe insists, it should treat informal workers as legitimate economic stakeholders rather than an inconvenience to be managed by police force, adding that the crackdowns would continue to fail.

He said urban order could be built on the hunger of Lusaka’s families.

“As I have repeatedly cautioned in previous statements, driving vendors out without first guaranteeing realistic, accessible, and functional economic alternatives is an act of governance that prioritizes aesthetics over human survival.”

Mr M’membe said the council’s repetitive playbook was as predictable as it was unsustainable.

“Every few years, an eviction campaign is launched, livelihoods are abruptly broken overnight, and the local authority points to supposedly vacant market spaces as a universal cure. But if these official markets were truly viable, safe, and located where the public actually shops, the streets would not be teeming with traders,” he argued.

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