By Yamikani Yapuwa

Thyolo, February 19, Mana: Thyolo District Council plans to introduce electronic ticketing system of collecting market fees at the newly opened Goliati Market in the district.

District Commissioner for Thyolo, Hudson Kuphanga, disclosed this Saturday when he toured the newly opened market to appreciate how businesses is faring.

"We want to introduce e-ticketing as one way of maximizing our revenue collection. The current system of manual ticketing is prone to corruption as huge sums of money collected goes into the revenue collectors’ pockets for personal gains other than the Council benefiting," said Kuphanga.

Kuphanga expressed hope that, once the new system is installed, the Council will improve on efficiency, monitoring and reporting.

He was optimistic that the opening of Goliati Market will boost the council’s revenue thereby enabling it to operate swiftly.

"We are excited knowing the Council will collect more money. We will be open to the public on how much we collect and how we use the money," added Kuphanga.

Vice Chairperson for Goliati Market Committee, Felix Tambwali, applauded the Council for its determination to open the market which has been idle since its completion two years ago.

Tambwali said the new market gives a conducive environment for business and has all the sanitation as well as security features.

"We have waste dumping sites as well as good toilets, among others, things that were lacking in our old market," he said.

Goliati Market was constructed with funding from KFW of Germany through More Income and Employment in Rural Areas (MIERA) project to the tune of K400 million.