Online Reporter
Mthokozisi Ncube
ARE there still good people in Bulawayo?
For many vendors with disabilities in the city, the streets have become a battlefield. While everyone is bound by the same city bylaws that ban selling from undesignated areas, residents are being urged not to exploit people with disabilities who are already struggling to survive.
Some residents have turned the plight of vendors with disabilities into an opportunity to cheat them.
Ariosn Simba, a 35-year-old visually and speech impaired airtime vendor from Gwabalanda, sells airtime near Esats opposite Bulawayo Centre. He says some people pay him with torn notes because they know he can’t see.
“People buy from me using torn notes. When I try to restock, shops refuse to take them,” Simba said through an interpreter, breaking down as he spoke.
“I have to pay rent every month. It’s hard when people are this cruel. I beg the residents of Bulawayo not to rob me. This is my way of living.”
At Fort Street and Sixth Avenue, vendor Svodai Mufanebadza says life is a daily fight.
“Sometimes I feel like we are targeted because we can’t run when the city council comes. They let others go, but they catch us,” she said, tears in her eyes.
Mufanebadza supports her two children with her small vending business, but her livelihood is constantly under threat.
“The other day my friend tried to climb onto the council truck to save her stock. They beat her hands until she fell, then took the rest of her goods,” she said.
Mufanebadza said all they want is fairness and dignity.
“We know the bylaws apply to everyone, but why hurt us more? We are just trying to survive like everyone else,” she said.
As the city cracks down on illegal vending, questions remain about compassion in the City of Kings. Will residents choose kindness, or will those with disabilities continue to be cheated, chased and crushed?
