adminVusumuzi Dube, Municipal Reporter
A VENDING scam has been exposed in Bulawayo, with investigations proving that a group of vending bay barons has emerged which makes money through sub-letting the numerous bays they accumulated through illegal means.
Investigations by Sunday News revealed that not only were these vending bay barons abusing desperate bay seekers, the council was doing little to address the issue.
It further emerged that the local authority, despite previously vowing that they wanted to bring sanity to the city’s vending, were themselves responsible for the vending chaos after they offered vending bays to a group of vendors before suddenly withdrawing the offers without giving valid reason or alternative space.
Contacted for comment Bulawayo Amalgamated Traders’ Association chairperson, Mr Charles Magumise said the local authority turned its back on the association leaving them at the mercy of barons who were now abusing them.
“Our association has 88 members, in 2015 council allocated bays close to the Presbyterian Church at the corner of Jason Moyo Street and 5th Avenue. However, for some reason best known to them they decided to withdraw the offers after we had each paid $37 to them as licence fees.
“We have tried to engage them, even going as far as the mayor but it seems no one wants to entertain us. What pains us the most is that we haven’t even been given alternative bays to operate from. This has forced us to approach these barons who make us pay an extra fee for us to operate but because this is our only source of livelihood, we have no choice but to comply,” said Mr Magumise.
He revealed that during their many meetings with the local authority no one seemed interested in addressing their plight leading them to believe that there was some form of cover-up on the part of the local authority.
“In one of our meetings with the Mayor, Councillor Martin Moyo, he told us that there was communication that was made to him to the effect that we were rowdy and violent hence the rescission of the decision to award us the bays, which surprised us because nothing like that occurred, it is clear that someone is feeding the mayor and councillors the wrong information.
“All we want right now is for them to give us our bays which we paid for in 2015 because as an association we don’t want to be operating from illegal points but eventually we will be forced to do so,” said Mr Magumise.
Commenting on the matter, the local authority’s spokesperson, Mrs Nesisa Mpofu, however, refuted the allegations claiming that there was no impasse which she was aware of.
She said they have a good working relationship with all vendors in the city.
“During the return to vending sanity exercise in 2015, 88 vendors were allocated and licensed to operate at the Jason Moyo corner in-front of the Presbyterian Church. There were numerous complaints from property owners concerning the site. Council then resolved to de-register the site and re- allocate the traders at Masotsha /Highlanders site.
“The affected vendors were engaged individually and through their association Bulawayo Amalgamated Traders Association. There is no known impasse and council continues to work well with all the vendors associations in the city. Meetings with these associations continue to be held regularly the last having been held on 12 July 2017,” said Mrs Mpofu.
Questioned on the emergence of vending bay barons who were renting out their bays, Mrs Mpofu gave a vague response claiming that anyone found with more than one bay would subsequently lose the vending bay.
“The council policy says one bay per person. Anyone proved to own more than one bay will lose the extra bay,” she said.
According to the local authority, Bulawayo’s Central Business District has 3 068 vending bays with a waiting list of 5 912. The outskirts do not have a waiting list because bays are available on walking in, 12 000 in number.
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