Online Reporter
Tendai Gukutikwa
Post Reporter
EVERY morning as Mutare wakes to the rush of commuters and traders, light green Zimpapers vendor vests appear at busy street corners, outside office buildings and shopping centres.
Vendors hold up the day’s newspapers, connecting readers with the news.
Behind each bundle is a longer story.
For many vendors, the vest has been more than a sales uniform. It has been a livelihood, source of school fees, pathway to home ownership, and in some cases, a lifeline for entire families.
Zimpapers’ distribution network, visible across Manicaland in these green vests, has created an unseen economic chain.
Beyond getting newspapers into readers’ hands, it has enabled vendors to earn incomes, support families and pursue other business ambitions.
Two women who have worn the vest for years illustrate that chain.
For 45-year-old Mrs Chenayi Madamombe, newspaper vending has been all of those things.
Her journey began on January 5, 2000, shortly after completing her Ordinary Levels. She had travelled to Mutare from Chivhu in search of an opportunity to change her family’s fortunes.
Twenty-six years later, she remains a familiar face to readers at Fidelity Life Building, where she operates as a commission vendor.
“I joined Zimpapers as a sub-vendor in 2000, and worked under a commission vendor for three years, before I was promoted to become a commission vendor in 2003,” she said.
Her decision to seek different work was shaped early.
After writing her O-Levels in Chivhu in 1999, Mrs Madamombe had made up her mind about the future she wanted.
Her sister, who worked as a domestic worker, would return home on weekends and holidays with accounts of abuse at work.
“I told myself that I never wanted to become a maid. I wanted something different for my life,” she said.
Opportunities at home were limited. Her family survived largely on piece jobs.
After her examinations, her brother took her to Mutare and helped her secure an opening with Zimpapers.
She embraced it.
At the time, conditions at home were difficult.
“At that time, things were really difficult at home. We were surviving on piece jobs and there was hardly any money. I could not even afford to collect my results slip when the results came out because I owed the school fees for many years. That situation motivated me to work hard because I wanted my siblings to be able to collect their own result slips and have a better life,” she said.
Her earnings went beyond her own needs.
She helped educate her brother, who is now employed by Agritex in Harare, while also supporting her mother.
“I am proud that through newspaper vending I was able to educate my brother, who is now working for Agritex. I have also been taking good care of my mother. In that way, newspaper vending helped bring an end to an era of depending on piece jobs in my family,” she said.
Her own children have benefited directly. She has three children, aged 21, 16 and 11 respectively.
Despite the demands of raising a family, she has managed to keep them in school without interruption.
“One of my greatest achievements is educating my children. I have never had a situation where my children were sent back home from school because I had failed to pay their fees,” she said.
The work is also visible in bricks and mortar.
Through her earnings, Mrs Madamombe bought a residential stand in Chigodora and built a three-roomed house where she now lives with her family.
“The home is something I am very proud of,” she said.
She has remained in vending despite challenges, driven by what she describes as genuine passion for the trade.
“I have never left newspaper vending because I have a passion for it and I love what I do. This work has given me an opportunity to take care of my family and improve our lives,” she said.
Her message to those who look down upon vendors is straightforward.
“People should not look down upon newspaper vendors. This is a job like any other. We are hardworking people trying to make a living and provide for our families,” she said.
At Dangamvura Complex, another green vest tells a similar story of incremental investment.
For 44-year-old Mrs Mirriam Chirimugwara, who joined the business in 2009, newspaper vending became the foundation for several ventures.
Today, she operates a small tuckshop from her home in Dangamvura.
Her entrepreneurial path has included running a bottle store in Honde Valley and operating a table at Sakubva Flea Market.
“I was able to achieve a lot of things from the proceeds of newspaper vending.
At one point I operated a bottle store in Honde Valley, and I also had a flea market business at Sakubva,” she said.
Like Mrs Madamombe, she channelled earnings into home ownership, building a three-roomed house, complete with toilets and sinks, in Honde Valley.
The income also allowed her to look after her parents and support her sister until her death.
“Newspaper vending has enabled me to take care of my family. I supported my parents and sister. I am also able to send my children to school. One of my children is now 24, while the other is 13. Newspaper vending has been a game-changer for me. It gave me a starting point and enabled me to invest in other businesses and improve my family’s life,” she said.
The experiences of Mrs Madamombe and Mrs Chirimugwara point to a broader pattern within an informal economy where consistent, low-margin work can over time accumulate into tangible assets.
In a province where formal employment is limited, the daily bundle represents, not only information in circulation, but also school fees paid, stands bought, houses built and businesses started.
Across Manicaland, the light green vests have become part of the landscape.
For the women who have built their lives through vending, each morning’s bundle is another opportunity to write the next chapter of their own success.
