M’mbelwa chases K200m in unpaid licence fees

M’mbelwa traders could soon feel the heat as the district council moves to recover K200 million in unpaid business licence fees.

The council has intensified enforcement after a three-month voluntary payment period expired, giving traders a final opportunity to settle their outstanding fees before tougher action.

M’mbelwa District Council Director of Finance, Sambiri Ziba, said the exercise was aimed at improving revenue collection and supporting development initiatives across the district.

Speaking during a monitoring exercise at Jenda Trading Centre on Wednesday, Ziba said the council had collected more than K50 million within eight days, representing an average collection of approximately K7 million per day.

He said 25 percent of the revenue collected is allocated to local development initiatives, including the improvement of market infrastructure and payment of casual workers employed in the markets.

According to Ziba, the enforcement exercise has already covered Mzimba Boma and Embangweni before moving to Jenda. He said all traders operating in the district are expected to comply with the business licence payment requirements.

The council has also started sealing shops belonging to traders who have failed to settle their business licence fees.

Ziba urged traders to voluntarily pay their outstanding fees rather than wait for enforcement measures to be taken against them.

“Whenever we seal shops, traders rush to pay, yet things should not reach that level. Let traders pay voluntarily,” he said.

One of the affected traders, Felix Lloyd Kainga, said he paid K600,000 in business licence fees after his shop was sealed.

The first phase of the enforcement campaign is targeting Mzimba South, while Mzimba North is expected to be covered during the second phase.

The council says the exercise is aimed not only at increasing revenue collection but also at improving market infrastructure and enhancing service delivery to traders and communities.