The Sunday News
Vusumuzi Dube, Senior Municipal Reporter
THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) will engage the country’s security sector to deal with vendors who would want to oppose a council directive barring bulk fresh farm produce from being sold in the Central Business District (CBD).
The local authority has complied with a Government directive to take advantage of the national lockdown meant to curb the spread of Covid-19 to decongest the city and eliminate the movement of vendors into town to access markets. This resulted in the permanent closure of the popular clothing weekend “Khothama Market” and the fresh produce market along Fifth Avenue, with all the roads that were being occupied by the vendors re-opened for vehicular movement.
Town Clerk Mr Christopher Dube said in an interview last week, the council was not backing down on the decision to move the vendors to other sites within the city’s 29 wards. He said the local authority was aware that there were certain groupings that were planning to return to their former sites after the end of the lockdown of which the council was ready to handle such deviancy.
“What I must emphasise is that this is not something that came out of the blue but it was a Government directive which also complements our long-term aim of transforming Bulawayo into a smart city. We will surely engage the security sector to help us deal with those who would want to go against this directive. Besides this move is meant to benefit both the city and the vendors, as we are bringing them close to their clients,” said Mr Dube.
He said the council was in the process of ensuring that all the newly identified vending sites had proper structures that adhere to the social distancing requirements.
“This is obviously a process but we will surely provide the required structures in all the identified locations, all we ask for is co-operation from the vendors, we will continue to engage them,” he said.
The Bulawayo Upcoming Traders’ Association (Buta) recently wrote to the local authority saying informal traders operating along Fifth Avenue have taken a position to move back to “their spaces” after the national lockdown. In a letter by the association addressed to Mr Dube, the association indicated said its members were unwilling to move elsewhere arguing that this would put them out of business. The association claims the new designated areas in residential areas did not have potential for business as people spend most of their time in the city centre.
