Source: BCC deflects from vendors directive, targets pushcarts | The Sunday News
Mr Christopher Dube Vusumuzi Dube and Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday News Reporters
FRESH doubts have been cast over the Bulawayo City Council’s willingness to implement a directive from the Government to clear all illegal vendors from the Central Business District (CBD), with recent investigations revealing the city’s half-hearted approach to last week’s ultimatum.The non-committal attitude of the city council has reportedly sparked a “great trek” by vendors from other cities and towns that have effected the ultimatum to seek refuge in the city.
The development comes despite the local authority purportedly imposing a deadline for all the informal traders that operate 5th Avenue to move to other recognised sites.
“The City of Bulawayo is currently conducting consultations with various stakeholders on the relocation of informal traders from 5th Avenue to Bhakta’s and Egodini Mall (350 bays). The relocation from 5th Avenue remains a priority as the city continues with these stakeholders’ engagements,” said Town Clerk, Mr Christopher Dube.
vendors in Bulawayo
Instead of moving the vendors, the local authority has since launched an operation targeting pushcart operators in the Central Business District, where Mr Dube has revealed that these will be fined a level one fine and impounding costs.
“The City of Bulawayo further reminds residents that in accordance with the Statutory Instrument 220 of 2023 section 7 item 5 that states that push carts shall not be allowed in the part of the Central Business District are bounded by 3rd Avenue, Lobengula Street, 12th Avenue and Robert Mugabe Way, any violation will attract a level 1 fine plus impounding costs,” said Mr Dube.
The Town Clerk revealed that as part of the City of Bulawayo’s relocation plan, priority would be given to the first 600 trading bays at Bhakta’s for traders who were operating legally at 5th Avenue.
Before that order, the city had resolved to permanently close the 5th Avenue vegetable trading market, citing the need to enhance urban planning, improve safety and support sustainable business growth.
In addition, the council resolved that vendors would be moved to a site located between Samuel Parirenyatwa and 1st Avenue while others would be moved to a spot near Highlanders Sports Club.
However, a visit to some of these sites by a Sunday News crew yesterday revealed that not much has been done in preparation for the expected relocation of the vendors.
Despite the construction of ablution facilities, the site at 2nd Avenue and Samuel Parirenyatwa resembled a ghost place with no visible signs that vendors had been encouraged to relocate to what is meant to be one of their new habitats in the city.
The city council’s call for other vendors to be relocated to Highlanders Sports Club seemed misguided as what is now one of the most popular markets for second-hand clothes seemed to hardly have any space for new tenants.
While markings at site Bhakta’s site illustrated the vending bays that the council had allocated to vendors, long-distance buses plying the Harare-Victoria Falls continued their day-to-day activities with those that spoke to Sunday News indicating their ignorance of new regulations that are meant to sweep them away from their place of business.
There are no shades provided as it is just an open area and the council has only invested in paint to mark the perceived vending stalls.
All the sites visited do not have any storage facilities or proper signage to ensure ease of doing business once the vendors move to these sites.
The Egodini site, with 350 available bays, is the only place where there is significant investment, with operating tables, storage facilities, proper shades and ablution facilities.
Meanwhile, informal traders interviewed said they hoped that the pause in the effecting of the ultimatum was meant to ensure a smooth transition from the current 5th Avenue to the sites identified by the local authority.
Bulawayo Vendors and Traders Association (BVTA) executive director, Mr Michael Ndiweni commended the stance to consult saying this was the best way forward to avoid a chaotic transition.
Bulawayo Vendors and Traders Association (BVTA)
“We are therefore praying for a smooth transition and our belief is that we must continuously engage and ensure that wherever people are being relocated to at least there are amenities like toilets and water. We also hope that the Bulawayo City Council will ensure that the new sites that they have designated have human vehicular activities so that people will not leave such spaces.
“We believe that it should not be about 5th Avenue but it’s about our city having properly accounted informal traders.
We hope the local authority also resolves its issues with informal traders because we know that we have informal traders who say they are paying for licences but there are those trading without any licences hence not contributing anything to the city,” said Mr Ndiweni.
Questioned on whether the space being allocated by the local authority was adequate to service the entire population, Mr Ndiweni said the space was not enough and it was time the local authority consider adopting a decongestion policy and the creation of hubs around the city.
“I think the City must adopt a decongestion policy, Bulawayo City Council has that policy but it’s not being implemented because honestly, their spaces in town may not be enough to cater for the entire informal traders.
“In our view, we need to create more hubs outside the CBD otherwise we will have problems of people congregating in the CBD and having the chaos that we see today. So the city must look at ways that they enforce or implement their decongestion policy so that we will have more hubs that are created outside the CBD, in the townships,” said Mr Ndiweni.
He further called on the public to change their mentality because most of the time, people assume that one can make money only in the CBD.
“If you look at other countries, like in South Africa they have malls outside the CBD, hence people don’t need to go into the CBD to do shopping but they go to these malls. If we look at Cowdray Park you do not have to then drive or commute for 30 kilometres just to buy a few things if we have such malls.
“So my view is that the city must be very serious about the decongestion of the city. During the Covid-19 era, people created some hubs at Nketa and people are now fighting for space there. We can make money as long as we create those hubs, create human and vehicle activities and other supporting activities,” said Mr Ndiweni.
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