adminTrust Khosa and Arron Nyamayaro
A LIGHT-SKINNED woman, clad in a tight dress, is among the sex workers looking for clients at Madondo Shopping Centre in Mt Darwin on Independence Day’s eve.
She appears an easy target for the clients, who are mainly artisanal miners.
Flashing wads of US dollars at women, the artisanal miners move around in groups, raiding most bars.
The “big spenders” are also calling the shots when it comes to the choice of women they want.
It’s also a big moment for the light-skinned woman who doesn’t resemble a villager. She must have travelled from one of the major towns or cities ‘for business.” “Mainini ngatizivanei ka, you can’t come and invade our territory otherwise you won’t operate tonight,” fumes one of the hookers.
There is literally everything from gochi gochi, gango (mixed relish), chips and chicken, sadza and mazondo, tea and chimodho to ice cold beers.
A survey by H-Metro shows most of the transactions are conducted in foreign currency. “I charge in US dollars only and I don’t accept any other form of payment.
“In your case guys, you can give me US$10,” said a sex worker.
“By the way, why are you asking me so many questions? You must be police officers or other people on another mission here. Please keep your money because I don’t want to invite trouble.”
Grocery shops operate till midnight at Madondo Shopping Centre.
“This place is busy my brother,” said one shop attendant.
One of the food outlets, Huku Mukati, even resembles the Chicken Inn shops.
“We realised that people wanted something close to services offered by Chicken Inn and that’s why my bosses translate to Huku Mukati,” said a cashier.
“If you look closely at the logo and motto, you can see that we borrowed it from Chicken Inn.
“In this life you need to be creative and most people here, especially artisanal miners, think that we are an Innscor branch. What I enjoy the most are the tips that I get from clients.
“There are some people who can give as much as US$50, especially artisanal miners, when they are happy.”
Madondo Business Centre boasts of a number of fuel stations, which operates 24 hours a day.
“You will never run short of fuel here in Mt Darwin because we know the place is busy and central,” said a petrol attendant.
Online Reporter