Online Reporter
The Herald, 13 August 1984
HARARE City Council is investigating whether it can build thatched people’s markets in a move to cut costs.
The director of works, Cde Tongai Mahachi and the director of community services, Mr Bev Taylor, are to seek quotations for building such markets.
This follows criticism levelled against the structures of newly built people’s markets by some council officials who said that the markets should be improved by using a steel canopy with concrete counter’s for 20 stalls as at the Cecil Square flower kiosks.
Mr Taylor said that the cost of erecting a people’s market like the one in Cecil Square would be double that of the existing type of market’s, not counting washing and toilet facilities and water connection charges.
The total cost of erecting a people’s market with steel canopy and concrete counters was about $16 700, according to Cde Mahachi’s estimates.
Mr Taylor said 28 people’s markets had been completed in Harare and the council had approved 32 more. Most markets were in high-density areas and only three in the low-density suburbs had been completed. Four more would be built in low-density suburbs.
The latest people’s market, in South Avenue near the bus terminus was almost complete. It will be taken over by vendors after a pedestrian barrier is erected and the area is surfaced. There will be nine people’s markets in the city of which four have been completed.
Mr Taylor was recently asked to consider allocating stalls in the new people’s markets to registered co-operatives.
Lessons for today
- Harare City Council considered using thatched markets because they were much cheaper to build than markets with steel canopies and concrete counters. So they looked for practical and affordable solutions that allowed more people to benefit.
- The construction of people’s markets was aimed at providing vendors with designated places to conduct business. Small-scale traders and vendors play an important role in the economy and need safe, organised spaces to work.
- Council officials debated whether to build simple structures or more expensive and durable ones. The article notes that markets were being built in both high-density and low-density suburbs. The proposal to allocate stalls to registered cooperatives shows an effort to encourage collective economic activity.
- Some officials wanted more modern market structures, while others emphasized cost savings. In development projects, it is often necessary to focus first on meeting people’s basic needs before investing in more expensive improvements.
- Successful development requires balancing quality, cost, and accessibility. By providing affordable market spaces for vendors, local authorities can promote economic activity, create opportunities for small businesses, and improve community livelihoods.
- As vendors keep on increasing in Bulawayo traders continue eating into parking space revenue because they have occupied the space by putting their stalls in order to sell their wares. If the council continues to construct more market places they can regain their parking bays where they also get income from motorists when they pay for parking.
