The Association for Vendors and Marketeers says the unstable security situation on the Copperbelt has affected the business community in Kitwe.

Association President Abel Chikwa told Money FM News in an interview that marketeers operating from selected markets are forced to close earlier than the normal working hours for fear of being attacked.

“When an area has been criminalized there is fear in people and that leads to closure of markets earlier and so it has affected us in business,” Mr. Chikwa said.
Mr. Chikwa said traders are now knocking off at 17:30 instead of the usual 21:00 hours for fear of suspected ritual killings being reported in Chingola.

“Most of the marketeers are leaving earlier than they are supposed to leave, now they are knocking off around 17 to 18 hours, in the past they used to knock off around 21 hours,” he added.
He added that customers are also shunning the markets after 18:00 hours for security reasons.

“Even the customers most of them are civil servants, when they knock off that’s when they go into markets but instead they are rushing back home for security reasons,” he said.
Mr. Chikwa advised traders and resident to help the police identify people they suspect to be behind the criminal attacks in order to bring back sanity in the affected areas.