Online Reporter
Gibson Mhaka [email protected]
NATIONAL Tree Ambassador Mr Never Bonde has backed Government’s efforts to clean up cities by relocating informal vendors to designated trading areas, but said authorities should first conduct an audit and engage vendors before moving them.
Mr Bonde said the exercise should not simply focus on removing vendors from city centres, but should also seek to understand their businesses and help them transition into the formal economy.
“While I support the Government’s initiative to clean up our cities, there is need for an audit of the informal vendors before they are relocated.
“We need to know who they are, what they sell and what support they need to formalise their businesses,” he said.
He said relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development and Industry and Commerce, together with local authorities, should engage vendors and conscientise them on the importance of formalising their businesses before relocating them.
Mr Bonde, however, said he was opposed to the sale of certain goods in city centres, particularly roasted maize, groceries and second-hand clothes being sold on the streets.
“I am against the trading of menial goods such as roasted maize in the city centre.
“I am also against the selling of groceries and second-hand clothes on the streets because some of these goods may have expired, while enforcement is often inadequate. This is a public health hazard,” he said.
He urged authorities to ensure that new vending sites were properly planned, clean and equipped with adequate ablution facilities.
Mr Bonde pointed to Kenya as an example of how informal trading could be accommodated without congesting pavements and city centres, saying Zimbabwe could adopt a similar approach through proper urban planning.
“In Kenya, there is orderly vending. You can have double-storey buildings where vending takes place without congesting pavements or the city centre.
“The businesses can still be in town but in properly planned spaces,” he said.
He said there was therefore no need for vendors to fear relocation simply because the new sites were outside traditional city-centre pavements.
“If we plan properly, there is no reason for people to complain that there is no business outside the city centre. We can create organised spaces where people can continue trading while keeping our cities clean and orderly,” Mr Bonde said.
As National Tree Ambassador, Mr Bonde said efforts to improve the cleanliness and orderliness of urban areas should also complement initiatives to create greener cities, with properly planned public spaces allowing for trees and other forms of urban greenery.
He also raised concern over public urination and defecation, particularly at bus ranks, bottle stores, sanitary lanes and around buildings under construction, saying the situation posed serious sanitation and public health risks.
Mr Bonde further condemned increasing alcohol and drug abuse, including the use of mbanje, particularly among youths at bus ranks, shops and in high-density suburbs.
He called on authorities and communities to address the problem as part of broader efforts to create cleaner, healthier and more orderly urban environments.
