Appeal for secondhand clothes ban review

Brighton Gumbo Business Reporter
SECOND-hand clothes vendors in Bulawayo say the move by the government to ban importation of their stock would render them destitute and appealed for help in starting alternative businesses.

Scores of jobless people in the city have turned to the trade popularly known as “koKhothama.”

A majority of vendors selling second hand clothes operate along Jason Moyo, between 4th and 6th Avenues.

Others operate at corner 8th Avenue and Robert Mugabe Way during weekends and holidays.

Those who spoke to Business Chronicle yesterday said they only survived on selling secondhand clothes.

Juliet Moyo appealed to the government to review its position on the ban. She urged authorities to come up with alternatives for them first.

“The government can’t close the only means of our survival without opening an alternative. Reality demands that the government must review its policy and provide an option for our survival as the banning of second hand clothes is going to make our lives difficult,” said Moyo.

She said banning secondhand clothes was not a good idea given the fact that they were affordable to many people who cannot afford expensive shops.

Nobert Murenga, who said he was recently retrenched, said the ban was an attack on his role as a father to his family.

“I was fired from work two months ago and the only thing I could do was to sell old clothes to provide for my family. Now the government is banning this business. I’m now desperate as I don’t have anything to give me money. There are no jobs and people continue to be fired,” said Murenga.

He said the government should come up with a plan to support small traders as failure to do so could force many to resort to criminal activities to get money.

Another vendor, Soneni Mpofu, concurred.

“Employment is scarce these days and employers are now taking workers for granted as people work and aren’t paid.

“I’ve since opted for this business of importing second hand clothes from Mozambique because I had no other way to provide for my family. My husband isn’t employed also. My business is performing well and we only request the government to revise its position.”