Online Reporter
Zimpapers Politics Hub
THE Vendors for Economic Development organisation (Vendors 4ED) has announced plans to construct vendor malls across all provinces by year-end, as the informal sector throws its weight behind the proposed Constitutional Amendment Number 3 Bill.
National chairperson, Cde Samora Chisvo, said that the amendment is essential for ensuring vendors finally secure their place in the mainstream economy.
“We cannot build an upper-middle-income economy by 2030 while vendors remain second-class citizens operating in the shadows,” Cde Chisvo said, on the sidelines the National Youth Day commemorations in Marondera.
“Constitutional Amendment Number 3 guarantees that the developmental programmes President Mnangagwa has initiated for us will not be disrupted by electoral cycles. We need continuity to transform.”
Cde Chisvo said over the past few years, the Vendors for ED organisation has overseen the registration of over 150,000 informal traders nationwide.
The proposed vendor malls, to be established in every province, will provide young traders with dignified trading spaces complete with storage facilities, sanitation and access to financial services.
“Our youths are tired of running from the council police. They want proper spaces where they can operate like genuine businesspeople and eventually become industrialists under NDS2,” he said.
Cde Chisvo praised the Presidential Empowerment Schemes for already transforming lives but argued that constitutional backing would ensure these initiatives become permanent economic pillars.
“We thank His Excellency for recognising that vendors are the engine of this economy. Now we need the constitutional framework to guarantee we remain at the table permanently.”
The mall initiative represents the culmination of Vendors 4ED’s efforts to formalise the sector through bulk-buying schemes and license fee suspensions, positioning informal traders as key beneficiaries of Vision 2030.
