The Lusaka City Council (LCC) has urged the business community in the city to be wary of some unscrupulous people impersonating Council public health inspectors.
Council Public Relations Manager George Sichimba said the local authority has noted with concern, a growing number of complaints from business owners that they are being harassed by some people claiming to be public health inspectors from the council.
Mr. Sichimba said the unscrupulous people are going round business premises conducting fake inspections and coming up with trumped up charges on flimsy grounds, adding that in some cases, business owners are being asked to pay penalties as high as K35,000.00 for alleged non-compliance with the public health standards.
“The business community should be informed that LCC public health inspectors use Council vehicles and move in groups when they are conducting inspections and they can easily be identified by their identity cards and LCC branded attire.”
“Further, LCC public health inspectors do not ask for cash payments for penalties on the spot or demand that you deposit the money in mobile money accounts,” Mr. Sichimba said.
He added that business owners are being threatened with closure of their premises should they fail to pay penalties on the spot and are also asking for financial contributions towards the fight against Covid-19 purporting to be doing so on behalf of the Council.
Mr. Sichimba also advised business owners to always be skeptical about people demanding cash payments on the spot and that such people should be reported to Council for verification.
“Individuals and organizations that wish to partner with LCC in the fight against the disease come to Civic Centre and make donations in a transparent manner. People impersonating LCC public health inspectors should, therefore, be warned that their days are numbered,” he said.