Online ReporterMichelle Musandinyoze, [email protected]
BULAWAYO City Council (BCC) has raised the alarm over the continued accumulation of garbage at the 5th Avenue market in the city centre, warning that illegal night vending activities are undermining waste management efforts and posing serious public health risks.
The local authority said the market, which operates without adequate refuse bins and sanitation facilities, has become heavily congested, forcing vendors to dump waste indiscriminately and turning the area into a potential disease hotspot.
BCC director of health services, Dr Edwin Sibanda Mzingwane, said the council is increasingly overwhelmed by solid waste management challenges at the site.
“Whenever we clean the place, vendors dump piles of garbage immediately after, which makes it difficult for our efforts to yield lasting results. Within three days of cleaning and collecting refuse, garbage is already piling up again, largely due to littering that occurs at night and sometimes during the day,” he said.
Dr Sibanda Mzingwane said the situation has been worsened by unregulated vending activities, particularly during the night, when council enforcement teams are thinly stretched.
The council expressed concern that the market operates with limited sanitary infrastructure, raising the risk of disease outbreaks.
“If these unregulated activities continue, we risk disease outbreaks, especially considering that there are no proper ablution and sanitation facilities in the area,” said Dr Sibanda Mzingwane.
He warned that consumers buying food from the market were at risk, as food handling is often done under unhygienic conditions.
“Vendors are handling food products without access to adequate hand-washing facilities after relieving themselves, which is a serious public health concern,” said Dr Sibanda Mzingwane.
The lack of toilets has also resulted in some people relieving themselves in nearby sanitary lanes, further contaminating the environment and worsening the health hazard.
Dr Sibanda Mzingwane said the council is working on relocating vendors from the 5th Avenue market to designated and properly serviced vending sites across the city.
“We currently have only one sanitary facility along 5th Avenue, which is clearly inadequate to cater for the large number of vendors operating there. Relocating them to identified, properly serviced vending sites is the most viable solution to prevent disease outbreaks and curb heavy littering,” he said.
Dr Sibanda Mzingwane said while they recognise vending as a key source of income for many residents, orderly, regulated and hygienic trading environments are essential to protect public health and maintain cleanliness in the city.
BCC has, in recent years, struggled with illegal vending and waste management challenges in the central business district, particularly at busy trading points such as 5th Avenue, where scores of vendors converge daily in search of livelihoods.
