Tendai Gukutikwa
Mutare Bureau
CHIPINGE Town Council is constructing two new markets to provide vendors with designated trading spaces and better facilities following their removal from streets and undesignated areas under the Government’s Operation Chenesa campaign.
The new markets, which are currently under construction at Gabaza and TNT, are expected to have stalls, ablution facilities, water supplies and shelters, with the local authority aiming to complete the current works by the end of October.
In an interview, Chipinge Town Council chairman, Councillor Kingston Dhlumo, said the development is intended to give vendors more suitable places to conduct their businesses while helping the council organise trading activities and improve sanitation in the town.
He said vendors had been moved from the streets to temporary designated trading areas as construction of the permanent markets progressed.
“We could not simply remove vendors from the streets without considering where they would conduct their businesses. We have therefore provided temporary designated areas while we develop permanent markets with proper facilities.
“Our intention is to create trading spaces where vendors can work in a clean and safe environment, with access to water, ablution facilities and shelter. These are important facilities for both the vendors and the people who buy from them,” he said.
Councillor Dhlumo said construction was already under way at the Gabaza and TNT sites, with the council targeting the end of October for completion of the stalls.
“We are already erecting stalls at the two sites, and our target is to have the markets ready by the end of this month. We want to move the vendors into permanent facilities as soon as possible, although other projects being undertaken by the council may affect the timelines,” he said.
He said the council had engaged with vendors on the relocation process, with Musika Rank among the designated areas identified for temporary trading.
Councillor Dhlumo said the development of the new markets was part of efforts to ensure that vendors had organised spaces in which to earn a living while the town maintained orderly and hygienic trading areas.
“We recognise that vending is a source of livelihood for many families. Our responsibility is to make sure that people can continue doing business while trading from appropriate places,” he said.
“We want markets that are practical, accessible and equipped with the basic facilities vendors need.”
The construction comes as authorities implement Operation Chenesa, which has seen vendors moved from streets and other undesignated trading points as part of efforts to improve cleanliness and order in urban areas.
For vendors, the new markets could provide more secure and organised working spaces, although their experience will depend on the facilities available and the accessibility of the sites to customers.
Ms Charity Simango, a vendor affected by the relocation, said she hoped the new market would provide a stable place to conduct business without the uncertainty associated with trading from undesignated areas.
“The completion of the markets will be an important step towards securing permanent trading spaces for us,” she said.
“We have been told that council will be moving us to the permanent sit by the end of October and we hope that it will go as planned because while more customers are in the streets, we did not have toilets or water there,” she said.
Another vendor, Mrs Shylet Mutakunye, said she hoped the new facilities would make trading more convenient for vendors and customers, particularly if the markets had reliable water supplies, clean ablution facilities and adequate shelter.
