Chronicle Editor
Sikhulekelani Moyo, [email protected]
BULAWAYO Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) has applauded the move by Bulawayo City Council (BCC) to remove illegal vendors from the streets to restore order and sanity, saying trading is a way to make a living but it needs to be done in an orderly manner.
On Sunday, BCC issued a statement advising stakeholders on the deadline for traders to move from undesignated trading sites.
The city council said this came after consultations with the Bulawayo Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Judith Ncube.
The Town Clerk Mr Christopher Dube said the City of Bulawayo has a mandate to restore order as guided by the Urban Councils (Model) (Hawkers and Street Vendors) By-Law.
He said illegal informal traders are warned and advised to move to designated sites no later than Friday, 9 February 2024.
“Registered informal traders who have abandoned their bays and/or are not paying the required Council fees are advised to return to their bays and regularise their operations.
“All persons conducting unauthorised informal trading on undesignated sites in the City of Bulawayo (on the streets, pavements, roadways), washing of cars, repairing of vehicles, illegal pickup points by private vehicles, commuter omnibuses, and buses, delivery of farm produce and other products onto the streets. pushcarts heavy commercial vehicles into the Central Business District, illegal throwing and dumping of garbage or litter, etc, are given up to Friday, 9 February 2024 to cease their illegal activities,” said Mr Dube in a statement.
He said all informal traders in the City of Bulawayo are required to have a Valid Vendors License.
Commenting on the notice, Bulawayo Chamber of SMEs coordinator Mr Nketa Mangoye Dlamini said from the planning point of view all the good or bad that happens in Bulawayo is on the shoulders of the city council as the Urban Councils mandate the council to govern all economic and social activities in the city including CBD, residential areas, all economic zones and other activities.
“The ultimatum to say let’s restore order is important as it follows the law.
“If you look around, what’s happening now in Bulawayo, there is chaos, we want SMEs to prosper and we want development in the country and we want SMEs to start up and grow but all these things have to be done in a well-planned orderly manner,” said Mr Dlamini.
“When you look at the streets that are currently occupied by illegal vendors, both pedestrians and vehicles can hardly move because streets and pavements are jammed.”
He added that the issue of sanitation is also a concern as vendors are working in areas where there are no ablution facilities, which becomes a health threat with the growing concern on cholera outbreak.
“There is a need to restore order and sanity in the city, Bulawayo is no longer clean as it was, we cannot have a situation where everyone does as he or she pleases but when things turn bad fingers are pointed to the city council, that is not proper,” he said.
“Bulawayo Chamber of SMEs promotes formalisation of businesses. We encourage them to formalise and we train them and encourage them to follow business ethics and to occupy spaces as given by authorities.”
He said there are vending bays that are empty as people tend to move to one place which has created chaos.
Mr Dlamini encouraged the council to enforce by-laws and also plan vending sites which are favourable as traders move to places where there is traffic as they are looking for markets.
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