THERE is no need to have all these policemen protecting one Bally, in that case I don’t need their protection if they cannot protect all the citizens, says President Hakainde Hichilema.

Speaking after touring Katungu Market, Sunday, President Hichilema said he was following what happened in Kasama where suspected cadres beat up the Kasama District Administrative Officer in her office because she did not give them empowerment funds.

“I am following what happened in Kasama, I have instructed the Minister of Home Affairs and the police, they don’t need my instructions, they must protect citizens. There is no need to have all these policemen protecting one Bally, in that case I don’t need their protection. If they cannot protect all the citizens then I don’t need their protection. My protection is for them to protect all the citizens of Zambia, in the markets, in the bus stop, including in the offices. No cadre should enter a public office and beat anyone. If there is a complaint, they must deliver the complaint, we will attend to the complaint, no violence,” President Hichilema said.

He said no cadres would be allowed to beat people in the markets.

“We don’t want cadres in the market that will beat people. We didn’t say we don’t want cadres to work in the market, they will work but no cadre will ever be allowed to beat marketeers, to get take away money, levy money from marketers. And here there is no party, no UPND, there is no PF, we are citizens. No citizen will be allowed in the name of a cadre to beat people, to take money from marketers,” he said.

The Head of State said in the next two years, there would be water and flushing toilets in markets.

“Marketers, our mothers, our traders are dear to our hearts and we are determined to change the situation. What are we changing? One; is to make sure that they have decent trading places which are clean. Those trading places must have water, good toilets. I am issuing instructions because we have put money called CDF, I don’t want to see in another two years, one year, any market without water, any market without a flash toilet. There must be a shower in the market because all we need to do, if there is no council water, is to sink a borehole, to build a few toilets, a shower or so, male or female. In the markets I don’t want to see garbage,” he said.

“Councils now have got back their money through market levies which some cadres of the old sinufuna nobakamba na ma zina yabo, nachipani chabo ndeo ija (I don’t even want to mention their names and their party, all that violence). We have now released that money back to the councils. Councils must provide a service together with the CDF, they should have enough money to look after marketers. The other area is to provide credit which we talked about during the campaign, part of that CDF is to create a revolving fund, an enterprise fund in the CDF so that we can give small loans to marketers for capital. That is the cry, I have heard their cry because we love them. They are the ones who put us in office and the youths who are crying, the benefits will come.”

Meanwhile, President Hichilema said schools must guide tailors in markets on how to make their uniforms so that they can be bought from the market.

“Another area, we don’t want a mother, a widow, or a youth trading in the market with children to now pay school fees. That is why we have given free education to all these people. When the money is saved for education, all they need to buy is uniforms and I am very happy to see in the market that there are people making uniforms. Our instructions now, schools must assist, guide [them] so that uniforms are bought from the market so that these people in the market can make money,” said President Hichilema.