KCC faces challenges to repair market infrastructure due to slow revenue flow

• Cash flow is usually slow and small which cannot sustain operations.
• The local authority can only repair infrastructure when need arises.
• Market levies can only sustain routine maintenance.
Kitwe City Council said the cash flow from markets is usually very slow which makes it a challenge for the local authority to provide the much needed infrastructure maintenance of markets where this levy comes from.
Speaking in an interview with Money FM News, Council Town Clerk Mbulo Seke disclosed that the authority can only handle repairing of market infrastructure when need arises as they do not collect economic levies from these markets.
Mr. Seke added that these market maintenances are usually done by other capital funding which usually come from outside the boundaries of market levies like the structure that was blown off by wind a few weeks ago at Buchi’s Kamitondo market which needs funding from local government mobilization fund being organized by the local authority.
“The cash flow from markets is usually very slow and very small in nature, so the market levies collected are not able to repair market infrastructure because we do not collect economical market levies and so we handle the repair of market structures as and when need arises from other capital funding outside the market levy,” Mr. Seke explained.
He highlighted that, “Already few days ago, one structure had a roof blown off by wind, so we are organizing funds from local government mobilization fund to have the said structure repaired.”
He further said that money collected from market levies can only manage to fund routine maintenances that are of minor nature as major maintenances cannot be sustained from the small amounts of market levy that is collected by the local authority.
Mr. Seke concluded, “The routine maintenances and repairs of minor nature are capable of being handled from market levies unlike major maintenances that cannot be funded from market levies because of the small nature of revenue collection by the local authority.”
Traders at Kitwe’s Buchi-Kamitondo market on the Copperbelt earlier called on the local authority to come to their plight by constructing modern stands at the market as the current shelters are in a dilapidated state which poses a great risk to traders and the customers.