Chronicle Editor
Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
LICENSED traders in Victoria Falls have commended the city council for removing hawkers, especially from Zambia who illegally sell goods on the streets around the resort city.
This comes amid concerns that some locals have turned their houses into unlicensed mini-shops, mainly in Mkhosana where illegal trading is rife.
A Chronicle news crew observed that some of the houses in Mkhosana are now selling a variety of products against the set council by-laws.
The development has prompted the council to launch a blitz on illegal traders targeting street vendors, particularly those operating from the “Comesa Market” popularly known as “Emaplankeni” where a majority of the traders are Zambian hawkers who move from door to door selling different kinds of goods.
Victoria Falls shares the border with Zambia’s Livingstone town and due to close proximity, Zambians cross to Victoria Falls daily using temporary gate passes.
This is despite the fact that Zimbabweans in Victoria Falls have no access to similar travel documents and facilities and have to use passports to cross into Zambia where they also are not allowed to openly sell on the streets.
Zambian traders, popularly known as “Omzanga” sell a range of products such as farm produce, second-hand clothes, shoes, and other household items that are also found at Victoria Falls markets.
Following concerns by traders operating from designated markets and formal shops, council management launched a blitz towards Christmas and has been occasionally raiding undesignated selling points where a number of traders have been rounded up.
Environmentalists have also been complaining about littering on the streets, which was blamed on the rise in informal trading.
Victoria Falls Town Clerk, Mr Ronnie Dube, recently said the local authority owns several designated trading areas from which prospective traders can sell their goods and wares. He encouraged residents and stakeholders to report anyone found trading illegally.
Victoria Falls Traders Association (VFTA) chairman Mr Ian Sibanda said while the council should be commended for removing hawkers from the streets, residents who have turned houses into retail outlets are not only taking their business but are also threatening the city’s ambiance.
“We are grateful to the council for removing illegal vendors and Zambian hawkers from the streets. However, we have a challenge with some houses especially the ones in new sections in Mkhosana where they run a market,” he said.
Mr Sibanda said the residents who had turned their houses into retail outlets were selling almost everything, thereby taking away business from licenced traders.
Victoria Falls has in the past been commended by private organisations and the Government for being the best-run and cleanest city.
This was so because it was controlling vending in the city resulting in vending activities being confined to designated areas.
Mr Sibanda said the council should be capacitated, especially with manpower and vehicles to use during their operations as the teams that carry out the blitz use a small truck that is overwhelmed by numbers of illegal vendors.
“The Zambians are still there but they are very few now and the streets are clear compared to the past.
“This is commendable and we wish the council could also maintain schedules to clear litter from the streets,” he said. —@ncubeleon
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