School gate vendors banned

Valencia Ndhlovu, Sunday News Reporter

SCHOOLS around Bulawayo have taken the initiative to ban vendors outside their gates as a measure to curb the selling of drugs and drug-laced food items to children in response to the drug awareness campaigns taking place nationwide. 

Some vendors who previously used to sell sweets and snacks are alleged to have been selling prohibited drugs that are addictive to children who find themselves having to go back for more. School Development Committees (SDCs) of different schools in Bulawayo have been made aware of the issue and decided to take the initiative of having children make use of school tuck-shops. 

SDC chairman at Amhlophe High School, Mr Henry Sibanda said they have never had a problem with vendors, however, they have put measures like making it compulsory for every child to make use of the school tuck-shop and not school-gate vendors.

“We never had issues with vendors selling drugs to school children or caught them red-handed but as a preventive measure we have banned vendors from selling outside the school fence and made it compulsory for children to make use of the tuck-shop during break or lunch,” he said.

SDCs are responsible for improving transparency, accountability and participatory decision-making on financial matters as well as ensuring there is quality of teaching and learning. Thus, they have taken the initiative to work in line with the law to curb drug and substance abuse which was becoming rampant at Bulawayo schools.

It has been alleged that some vendors were lacing foodstuffs such as scones with drugs and selling them to unsuspecting learners while in some instances they were used as disguise to hide them from law enforcement and make them easy to carry around.

The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has been carrying out an operation around the country dubbed “no to drugs and illicit substances” to arrest those selling drugs around the country with a total of 4 110 people having been arrested countrywide.

Police have called for a collective effort to end the drug and substance menace that is threatening to derail the gains made in the education sector in pursuance of Vision 2030.