Uniform colour for shops riles traders

TRADERS in Lusaka’s central business area (CBD) are scared of losing their identity once their shops are painted in uniform colours following a directive from the local authority.
Mr Isaac Mwanza, one of the shop owners explained that painting his shop with a uniform colour would be difficult to distinguish it from others.
Speaking in an interview the Sun yesterday Mr Mwanza said all the business companies had brands which needed to be visible to their customers.
“I think this move is very unfair. Some of us make sure that our shops are clean and painted whenever they are dirty. All what Government could have done is to put a penalty on those traders keeping their buildings dirty,” Mr Mwanza.
Another trader, only identified as Abdul said he was ready to keep his building clean.
“The mayor (Lusaka mayor, Miles Sampa) should be specific. Are we going to brand the names of our business in those uniform colours?,” said Mr Abdul
This week Lusaka Mayor Mr Miles Sampa suggested that all ordinary shops in the CBD area should be painted light grey and light brown to ensure that the city remained neat.
On companies with own brands, Mr Sampa said institutions such as ZESCO would be allowed to stick to their brand colours.
Mr Sampa explained that the local authority would grant permission where there was a genuine reason to business houses to maintain their brand colours.