adminElita Chikwati Senior Reporter
Government and Harare City Council will soon provide vending structures for people selling their wares along the streets, Small and Medium Enterprises and Co-operative Development Minister Cde Sithembiso Nyoni, said on Wednesday.
Addressing hundreds of vendors at Zanu-PF Headquarters in Harare, Minister Nyoni said vending would not be allowed in the streets as soon as the structures were constructed.
She said Government recognised the importance of vendors and their contribution to the economy, but wanted them to operate in an organised manner.
“Vendors are people who want to earn their living honestly. We do not want to see them selling their wares on the ground along the streets. We want them to be organised and operate in an orderly fashion. We are launching a policy in honour of the First Lady, Dr Grace Mugabe’s efforts to ensure vendors are catered for.
“Dr Mugabe does not want to see vendors being harassed so we are going to make sure vendors have shelter and are protected.
“We are going to start with Harare and we will move from town to town to ensure orderliness and cleanliness in the cities.
“Vendors have been trading under difficult circumstances in our country. They have assisted Government in a big way and I want to acknowledge that. I urge vendors to continue doing business in a clean environment.”
Minister Nyoni said most vendors were losing business by selling their wares on pavements as this was unhygienic and exposed consumers to diseases.
“Vendors need Government support. We require vendors to register with the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises and Co-operative Development and with the local authorities.
“They should also be registered under an association and form clusters. We are going to train them to run businesses so they graduate from small to medium and large. We want vendors to graduate into big business people,” she said.
Harare Town Clerk, Dr Tendai Mahachi, said city authorities recognised that informal trading was the foundation for economic growth.
“Because of that, a lot of people are trading on the pavements, islands and undesignated places. We have been discussing with a company called Imhanya for structures that will be suitable for people to trade from. The company will provide a decent structure for trading.
“These structures have 108 divisions, which could be rolled out in Harare and accommodate our people in terms of vending booths and ablution facilities. What is exciting about this development is people will be given the first stock and then they will do their business and from their profits, they will pay 25 percent to the company that would have provided the structures,” he said.
Imhanya managing director, Engineer Tafara Gwata, said his company would provide mobile vending structures and ablution facilities.
“We can provide vendors with vending booths, hair salons, carts and retail outlets,” he said.
Grassroots Empowerment Flea Market and Vendors Trust chairman, Mr Alexio Mudzengerere, said this was a welcome development, which would bring order among vendors.
“We hope the shelter provided will be suitable for vendors who are into different trades.
“0Vendors sell different wares and some will require more space for their operations,” he said.
Online Reporter