Lusaka City Council and the Zambia Police Service will begin removing street vendors and bus drivers from unauthorised trading areas on Saturday, 3 October, in a joint enforcement drive the Mayor says is about order and public health, with cholera cases rising in the district.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- “Operation Clear Path”, a joint Lusaka City Council (LCC) and Zambia Police enforcement exercise, starts on Saturday, 3 October 2026.
- Street vendors and bus drivers will no longer be allowed to operate from unauthorised locations in the Central Business District and other affected areas.
- Mayor Chitambala Mwewa urged traders and bus operators to move to designated markets and bus stations, saying the operation “is not intended to punish anyone.”
- The Council links the drive to public health: Lusaka District has recorded 130 cholera cases, and street vending, waste dumping and blocked drains raise the risk.
- Police spokesperson Godfrey Chilabi said the operation is planned to ensure legal compliance while protecting human rights and property.
What is happening
Lusaka City Council, working with the Zambia Police Service, will start a joint enforcement operation on Saturday, 3 October 2026, to remove street vendors from unauthorised trading areas. The exercise, code-named “Operation Clear Path”, targets the Central Business District and other affected parts of the city.
Addressing the press, the Mayor of Lusaka, Mr Chitambala Mwewa, said street vendors and bus drivers will no longer be permitted to operate from unauthorised locations from that date, as part of efforts to keep the city clean, healthy, safe and orderly.
The Mayor’s message to traders
The Mayor urged affected traders and bus drivers to cooperate and move to designated markets and bus stations, where they can trade lawfully. He said the Council remains committed to a business-friendly environment, provided trading follows the law.
“This operation is not intended to punish anyone but to restore order and promote sustainable trading practices,” he said. “We encourage all traders and bus drivers to take advantage of the available trading spaces in markets and bus stations provided by the Council and work with us in building a better Lusaka.”
The cholera link
The Council has tied the timing to public health. The Mayor said street vending, together with indiscriminate waste disposal and blocked drainage, poses serious health and environmental risks at a time when Lusaka District has recorded 130 cholera cases. With the rainy season approaching, blocked drains and uncollected waste around trading points become a bigger concern.
Police say rights will be protected
Zambia Police Service spokesperson Godfrey Chilabi said the operation has been planned to ensure legal compliance while protecting human rights and property during the exercise. That assurance matters, because past removals of street traders in Lusaka have at times led to confrontations and losses of goods.
The economics behind the street
For many Lusaka households, street vending is not a choice made against an available formal job. It is the job. Trading close to where customers walk, at bus stops and busy junctions, is how many vendors make enough sales in a day to cover food, rent and school costs. Relocation to a market changes that calculation: stall fees, distance from foot traffic and competition inside the market all affect daily takings.
That is why the success of Operation Clear Path will depend on more than enforcement. Three questions will decide whether traders stay in markets or drift back to the streets:
- Space. Whether designated markets and bus stations have enough room for the traders being moved.
- Customers. Whether those spaces sit where buyers actually pass, so that traders do not lose most of their sales.
- Services. Whether markets offer water, toilets, waste collection and security that make them a better place to trade than the pavement.
Clean, safe streets and a healthy city are reasonable goals, and the cholera numbers give the Council a strong case to act. The longer-term test is whether the city can offer traders a place to earn a living that works as well as the street did, so that order lasts beyond the operation itself.
What traders and commuters should note
- Enforcement begins on Saturday, 3 October 2026.
- Vendors should move to designated markets; bus drivers should load and offload at designated bus stations.
- Traders with questions about available spaces should contact Lusaka City Council.
Related: Where Lusaka Does Lunch: The Business of Fire, Food and Fast Turnover at Longacres Market.
Related: Buseko Market Fire Destroys Traders’ Property in Lusaka.
Related: Lusaka on a Sunday Morning: Intercity Slowly Comes to Life.
WARNING! All rights reserved. This material and all other digital content on this website may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior express permission of The Zambian Economist. Where permission is granted, the content must be clearly credited to “The Zambian Economist,” with “www.zambianeconomist.com” prominently displayed.
WhatsApp: +260775574228 | Email: info@zambianeconomist.com
© 2026 The Zambian Economist.
