: Zimbabwe Top News FOLLOWING-the Zimbabwe’s national governments’ bid to relocate the struggling vendors to licensed vending areas, 8 July 2015, proved a fateful day for the Harare’s illegal vendors as the ZRP backed Municipal Council police stormed Harare’s CBD which had gradually became a vending hub leaving all the informal vending establishments chaotically overturned.
The unsuspecting vendors who were in the days’ usual business under the early afternoon’s winter shinny sun were served to a devastating surprise visit by the Municipal council police and the ZRP’s heavy trucks whose personnel immediately took the undiplomatic task of clearing the City’s chaotic streets and pavements by its horns. Municipal Council Police & the ZRP In a bid to relocate Harare’s vendors to force Harare’s vendors to the newly government designated vending areas located in the town’s peripherals, the ‘ground’ authorities overturned and destroyed the vendors’ stalls and all the illegal cabins around the CBD in a mini-Murambatsvina style to deal with the vendor’s resistance effectively.
On the 6th of June 2015, the government had issued a 26 June 2015 street evacuation notice to the vendor’s representing organisations which was long missed. The government stated that the illegal vendors trading haphazardly around the CBD move to new council regulated places and in the process get registered with the City council hence the regularising the vending Business.
The ‘poor’ vendors struggling to make daily ends meet had not welcomed the idea arguing that their businesses are too small for taxation by the council. Moreover they believe the places designated for vending will not see the usual influx of customers and relocating to unviable areas will mean doing away with invisible benefits like making merchandise available right at the customers’ feet like impulse buying which for a long time they had always enjoyed.
One casualty identified by his fellow vendors as “Mdara Dzvivo” who stood motionlessly amidst the mayhem holding on tightly to his disturbed business premises (a cardboard box that is) and his sack of merchandise loudly soliloquised at the authorities saying, “....Moti nyika haina mari, haina mabasa, toedza kuiruka toga, motidzinga kutiendesa kumapiripiti uko kusina anosvika mati titengesarane tega here..,” (the designated places are not viable for business). The rampant scene also paved way for the fortune seeking touts who immediately took advantage of the situation to snatch from vendors and teaming up to claim other valuable material. From time to time among the crowd made of vendors and the noises coming from tables that were being plundered by the authorities one would hear a desolate scream (esp by women), “...Mkwasha siyai, isimbi dzangu idzodzo hamunyare...” (Leave my metal bars or equipment, thief!) a situation that obviously added a burden to the already distressed women who are believed to be the ones mostly affected by the nation’s economic instability. Some wouldn’t but extremely help show their anger towards displacement and got their voices heard by joining the small protest in Speke Avenue against the move. The protest the vendors move up and the street chanting in a monotonous uniformity and displaying placards carrying thoughtful messages like, “Mahure Makabvumidza Wani,” (recently prostitution was allowed which the vendors regard as an immoral way of seeking livelihood) referring to the recent constitutional altercations made on the national policies on ‘thigh vending’ which saw the acts being bent to the Sex Workers’ advantage.
But, ‘temporarily’ none of the cries were able to halt the authorities from performing their duties to clean up the Sun Shine City. Source: Zimbabwe Top News www.zimtopnews.blogspot.com
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