Business was brought to a stand-still in Zomba market as angry vendors were protesting against their leader’s decision to allocate some premises belonging to cassava sellers, to hardware operators.

According to one of the vendors, Mr. Saladinya, the wrangle started when Mrs. Kalambula, one of the hardware operators, started erecting her shop at a place belonging to Saladinya. When he asked the woman as to why she is building the shop at his business premises, the woman said she has been told by the market officials to do so.

This response angered Saladinya and later he and his fellows started dismantling the construction and then parked the bricks and the sand used in the construction on a veranda belonging to the vendors Chairman Mr. Kachipande.

When contacted to settle the wrangle, the Chairman at first denied coming but later he called all the vendors including the protesters at his shop where he addressed them.

In his address the chairman through his vice, Mr. Kanjinga, told the vendors that the permission for the construction of the hardware shops was given by the city council officials and ordered the builders to go ahead with the construction advising the cassava sellers to squeeze his goods, a thing that left all the vendors in disbelief.

“How can somebody move from his usual working premises to an unspecified place paving way for a stranger to build her shop,” wondered the vendors.

According to one of the committee members who asked for anonymity, the leaders are acting in this way because they have been given money by rich hardware vendors.

“The chairman has received k50, 000 for this place and there are reports that the chairman wants to sell the place, mainly the colliders between shops in the market” said the member.