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Herald Reporter
GOVERNMENT says it is working with development partners to assist Mbare Musika traders who lost wares worth thousands of dollars in an inferno which swept through the iconic market on Tuesday night.
The fire destroyed stalls and goods on sale, leaving hundreds of traders devastated. Yesterday, tears dropped into the ashes as vendors stood helplessly amidst the ruins of their once-thriving stalls, now reduced to rubble.
The scene was a haunting motley of broken pottery, partly burnt bags of sugar beans, remains of kapenta fish, fragments of solar panels, among others.
The cause of the fire remains unknown, and as of yesterday, authorities were yet to ascertain how the inferno started.
In a statement last night, Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister, Monica Mutsvangwa, said Government was saddened by the fire that burnt down the Mbare Traders Market, affecting about 5 000 traders. She said the fire caused extensive damage to the market, destroying the entire retail section and parts of the wholesale market.
“This has had a profound impact on the lives of approximately 4 695 traders occupying over 1 565 tables who depend on this market for their primary source of income,” she said.
Minister Mutsvangwa said the tragedy has negatively impacted, not only the traders, but also the suppliers and other players in the value chains that support the market.
The ministry was now engaging other Government departments and agencies as well as development partners to come up with a comprehensive response plan while the nation will be kept abreast of the measures that will be undertaken to address the negative impact of the disaster.
Echoing the despair of hundreds who had their retail businesses destroyed, a Mbare Musika trader, Ms Ruth Nevanji, said: “I lost 10 bags of kapenta fish (matemba).”
The blaze, which started late in the evening on Tuesday, continued to rage through the night until yesterday morning, leaving market stalls and merchandise ruined.
For Ms Nevanji, the loss was twofold, not only did she watch her stall go up in flames, but she also lost US$80 she had carefully hidden away in one of the sacks.
“I lost everything,” Ms Nevanji said while trying to fight back tears.
Multiple traders declined to comment on record, citing their emotional distress and frustration following the fire.
“We have nothing to say,” one trader summed it up, shaking her head.
Ms Maonei Kadyakumbuka’s eyes welled with tears as she surveyed the charred remains of her hardware stall.
“I had gas tanks, solar panels, radios… everything,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “Now, it’s all gone. US$10 000, vanished in the flames. And I have no Plan B.”
With no financial bailout in sight, Ms Kadyakumbuka said she had pinned her hopes on selling scrap from the fire to raise transport funds to try and restart her business.
“No one can bail me out,” she said. “I am counting on the remains to sell as scrap.”
Mr Tendai Muzana, another affected trader, estimated his losses at approximately US$5 000.
“I had substantial stock of Chinese-made goods, all gone,” he said.
However, Mr Muzana’s concerns went beyond the fire itself.
“I suspect looting occurred when the chaos erupted,” he alleged, adding that, “valuable items vanished amidst the flames, and I fear some individuals took advantage of the situation.”
Conflicting theories have emerged about the cause of the fire.
Witnesses reported that some vendors who sell sweeping brooms in the market were smoking cigarettes, and might have sparked the inferno.
Alternatively, others believe that homeless individuals who had started a fire to keep warm may have accidentally ignited the surrounding stalls.
Harare City Council spokesperson Mr Stanley Gama yesterday said the city was still assessing the extent of the damage.
“We are still assessing the extent of the damage as the firefighters are still on the ground now trying to clear the smouldering. It will take the best part of the day to clear the small pockets of fire left.
“(The) cause of the fire is still being investigated and they are gathering information from the people who operate there,” said Mr Gama.
Online Reporter