‘Mupedzanhamo’ comes to town

have them in stock,” said one vendor.
A few metres away, a vegetable vendor is making endless yelling to attract people passing by so that they can have a glance of the vegetables he is selling in an open truck.
In Glen View, at Makomva Shopping Centre, soap, cooking oil, salt and sugar are stashed neatly in a car boot which has been transformed into a mini-tuck-shop.
Elsewhere, at Makombe Building, it is lunch time and suddenly a car dubbed “mobile canteen” appears, and many people queue to get their meals in exchange for a dollar.
Welcome to Harare where “boot” vending is fast gaining ground!
Many people in Harare have transformed their cars into mini stalls and flea markets.
“We don’t have a place to erect our stalls, and the prices charged by the city council are outrageous we can’t afford them, I have turned my car into a stall,” said Arnold Chauke, who sells groceries in his car at Makomva Shopping Centre.
Another vendor who uses his car as a canteen at Fourth Street bus terminus said they were recording brisk business and the clientele base was ever growing.
“Business is good here, we don’t have to be licensed like restaurants and I simply speed off when the menacing municipal police arrive,” he said.
Vendors said they were doing brisk business because they don’t incur any overheads.
“Imagine if I had to rent a place in Mupedzanhamo, a table is going for US$300 a month and I have to pay the porter who carries the ‘stuff’ to the storeroom. I also have to pay for the storage, but here I just sit down and relax while  keeping a watchful eye on municipal police who keep on raiding us,” said Hazvinei Dzikamunenzva, who has made an open space near Matapi Flats in Mbare hers.
Vendors have mastered the art of evading raids by municipal police.
Members of the public have, however, castigated the vendors saying they were chief culprits in causing congestion in the city centre.
Mabiko Chiutsa, who had come to process his passport, said “mobile canteens” were obstructing people.
“These people (vendors) park on the pavements and start their business. If they can afford to buy cars why can’t they afford to rent proper facilities even in the downtown side of town where rentals are a bit low,” he said.
Another Harare resident, Elizabeth Sibanda from the Avenues, accused the City of Harare of not taking stern action against such people who breach council by- laws.
“This is clearly against city laws; they should rein in such people and ensure that people are not subjected to unhealthy and inhuman services,” Mahlupeko said.
Chairperson of the Harare Environmental Management Committee Councillor Stewart Mutizwa said the city council would soon launch a blitz to restore order in the city.
“As the city council we do not approve any selling of food in the open,”Clr Mutizwa said.
Harare-based medical doctor Mlungisi Ndebele said residents should be wary of food poisoning when they buy from “boot canteens”.
“Cooked food can easily be contaminated and people should be careful about what they buy. Food that seems to be cheap is not cheap because people end up losing a lot money through medical bills,” he said.
“People had already forgotten that in the recent past we were struggling to contain the outbreak of typhoid,” he added.
However, City of Harare spokesperson Mr Leslie Gwindi said plans were under- way to restore order.
“Another clean-up exercise is on the horizon because of these mushrooming vendors. The areas are not designated for trading hence the need to put proper measures in place,” he said.
Mr Gwindi warned the public to desist from buying from vendors.
“Buying from vendors is a risk. People should stop supporting vendors. It is possible that they are spreading typhoid since they are using unsafe water from damaged water mains,” he said.
Mr Gwindi admitted that the council was facing challenges in supplying water in the capital.
“That is one of the problems with our public toilets. Apart from being overwhelmed by the growing number of users, there is a shortage of water,” said Mr Gwindi.
The Harare City Council warned the public from buying from vendors amid concerns that they were fuelling water-borne diseases.
Urban planning experts argue that Government should construct shopping malls in high-density suburbs so that they decongest the city centre.
A few months ago, City of Harare circulated a stern warning that it was illegal to trade in the city without a valid licence and giving an ultimatum for the operators to regularise their licences.
Vending has become a menace in the city of Harare as vendors have literally invaded all pavements with various merchandise including vegetables, mobile phone covers, textbooks and many other items.
Frequent harassment from city council officials has seen some of the vendors opting for the safety of the night, during which the municipal police would have retired for the day, to sell their varied wares, pocketing significant profit.