Retail sector mayhem

The influx of vendors in Harare’s Central Business District (CBD) is not only an eyesore, it has also brought anarchy into the heart of the local retailing sector.

Furthermore, the proliferation has put into focus the Harare City Council’s failure to effectively deal with the vendors, derailing the city fathers’ plans to turn the capital city into a world class city by 2025.

The mayhem is a drama-filled cocktail of vending, street-side retailing, merchandising and dealing.

To add to the drama is the peddling of illegal and often dangerous substances and wares, often right under the nose of the city authorities and law enforcement agencies.

Prescription drugs and medicines, smuggled into the country from neighbouring countries that include South Africa, Zambia and Mozambique, have become commonplace on the streets of Harare.

Repackaged food stuffs, with no clear indications as to their origins or expiring dates, are being openly traded on the streets of Harare.

Some would want to argue that the “unofficial” opening up of space for vendors in the CBD paved way for the downtrodden, who have been kept away from the CBD gravy train by exorbitant rental charges.

However, it is the quality of goods being peddled on the streets that has nonetheless come into question with health experts questioning the validity of some of the products.

Officials have been slow to react, leading to the proliferation of the vending.

While the Harare City Council has, over the years, been very vocal regarding its plans to rid the city of the illegal vendors, little has been done to thwart the practice.

So confusing have been the proclamations coming out of Town House to the extent that no-one knows the city’s actual position regarding the matter.

Only last year, council insisted on vendors paying an average of US$3 for them to transact their business in the city centre depending on their wares, signalling what many assumed to be the formalisation of vending in the CBD.

Come February this month, council was talking tough, threatening to get rid of all the vendors in the CBD, only to make a complete U-turn recently.

“We are still pursuing several possibilities pertaining to issues of illegal vending in the CBD,’ said Mayor Manyenyeni.

“We are digesting it, we are looking at it and how Minister Chombo’s directive of having them (illegal vendors in the CBD) relocated elsewhere can be implemented.

“By this, we mean that removing illegal vendors by stopping them from setting up their wares everyday might be a possibility just as much as negotiating with them to move to designated sites might be a possibility.”

“We want a clean city, so does the minister but we want to do it in a realistic and practical way. So for now, we are not removing them.”

To add to the simmering feud, the police and Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe have also weighed in, threatening to launch a blitz to quell the raging menace.

Investigations by The Sunday Mail Extra revealed that among the prescription drugs that are being illegally sold on the streets of Harare, there are sex enhancing drugs such as Sildenafil, Powermax XXL and Viagra Plus.

Said a known peddler of the drugs who operates along Kaguvi Street: “These are taken six to seven hours before intercourse and they work for up to three days.”

Sildenafil, one of the popular sex enhancing tablets sold by the vendors, is usually marked as Viagra, a medication used to treat erectile dysfunction.

The tablets cost a dollar for a double dosage while the more advanced pills cost between a dollar each going upwards for a single dosage.

However, local health regulations denote that all medicines must be labelled with dosage instructions, content and the possible side effects and symptoms related to over-dosage.

Health experts that spoke to The Sunday Mail Extra said such drugs poses a serious threat to public health.

Harare-based health expert, Mr Naison Dube said overdose of these types of medication may result in coronary diseases and possible fatality.

“Serious side effects include prolonged erections, which can lead to damage to the penis, and sudden-onset hearing loss,” he said.

“Sildenafil should not be taken by people who take nitrates such as nitroglycerin, as this may result in a severe and potentially fatal drop in blood pressure.”

But MCAZ remains adamant that it will face the challenge head on.

MCAZ spokesperson Mr Richard Rukwata said prescription medicines being peddled by vendors on the streets are in fact unregistered.

The sale of unregistered medicines is a criminal offence under Section 29(1) of the Medicines and Allied Substances Control Act (Chapter 15:03).

“Further, there are other provisions in the Medicines and Allied Substances Control (General) Regulations 1991 (SI 150 of 1991) that prohibit the sale of medicines from unlicensed premises as well as the sale or purchase from unauthorised persons or sources (Sections 17 and 17 A respectively),” he said.

“As we speak, we are in the process of creating a task force together with the Criminal Investigations Department’s Drugs Squad to bring the offenders to book.

Mr Rukwata warned members of the public to desist from buying medicines from street vendors as most of these substances are in fact substandard and sometimes counterfeit.

He said by buying these medicines they are not only wasting their money but risking their health at the same time.

He argued that the country is not short of approved health care providers and it is not necessary for members of the public to be purchasing their medicines from unlicensed vendors.

Mr Rukwata said the public should also realise that there is no recourse when they buy medicines from street vendors, as they may end up spending more money to reverse the effects of the sub-standard medicines they would have purchased.

Commenting on the issue, Harare Residents Trust (HRT) director Mr Precious Shumba said although the regulatory framework is clear, the manner in which it is being enforced was benefiting officials from the council and police who were in the habit of demanding bribes from vendors.

“The regulatory framework in place is clear, the only challenge is that there is inconsistent enforcement, resulting in opportunists taking advantage of people,” he said.