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Blessings Chidakwa Municipal Correspondent
Conmen soliciting between US$10 and US$20 “fees” from traders and vendors while promising them stalls and tables at Shawasha Grounds and Mupedzanhamo flea market in Mbare are criminals who have no say in allocations, Harare City Council has said.
When the authorities agree that the two large informal sector markets can reopen under strict conditions, Government and council jointly agreed that the space allocations will be done openly by a special committee using clear criteria, with priority being given to established traders whose illegal and temporary structures had to be demolished to pave way for upgrades.
The allocations committee will include members of the Provincial Joint Operations Command and will be chaired by the city’s Director of Housing and Community Services.
While local authorities would be identifying and preparing suitable workspaces for informal traders, the committee will be responsible for making sure stalls are clean, orderly and well managed to ensure maximum revenue collection. In a statement, Harare City Council said it was not collecting money from residents as a pre-condition for them to be allocated vending spaces.
“There are people collecting US$10 from residents purportedly to buy favours in the allocation of trading spaces. This is illegal,” said council.
“Council is still in the process of making sure the place has enough and better amenities for use by residents and has not yet started allocating market stalls.”
Council said those who have paid the conmen money should report to the police.
Both markets have been bedevilled for years by interference from criminals, some posing as political heavyweights, who allocate space, including space not designated for trading, and unlawfully collect rent from those trading at the markets.
In their quest to score political mileage, some officials allowed vendors to erect substandard structures that exposed them to health hazards.
In an interview on Wednesday, Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (VISET) said it was seized with reports of space barons charging vendors forex for allocation of tables.
“We are against such barbaric acts,” said a spokesperson for the organisation.
“Remember that is the reason why council is renovating and cleaning up workspaces to get rid of such elements who cause chaos at the markets.
“They also deprive council of potential revenue. Our position is that we will pay directly to council that owns the land and has the sole mandate of contracting traders.”
Council has already started marking and numbering trading space at Mupedzanhamo to ensure that when the market is allowed to reopen, this can be done in an orderly fashion and that trading can be monitored and regulated, with safety conditions easy to implement.
The general policy adopted by most councils for markets is that the fees go towards the cost of the supplied services and administration, without the councils using them to make a profit, but without the councils having to subsidise markets from the rates funds.
Online Reporter