Beaven Dhliwayo
Harare, Zimbabwe (News of the South)- Vendors have upped the game and drafted a Vending Act which they hope finds a way to Parliament and is aimed at strengthening their position as part of the country’s economy.
According to the Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (VISET) the Act will enable them to demand answers from solution holders and to stop the ongoing harassment of their members.
The number of vendors has steadily increased in the country as the economy continues to be in the doldrums.
ZIMSTAT estimates that the informal sector constitutes approximately one third of Zimbabwe’s total population though government has continued to clash with vendors with running battles between police and vendors occurring daily.
Speaking at the launch ceremony VISET Executive Director Samuel Wadzai said the policy aims to ensure that vendors find recognition for their contribution to society, and is conceived of as a major initiative for urban poverty alleviation.
He said street vendors are key players in the country’s national economy which, over the past years has become highly informalised.
“The role played by vendors to the economy thus need to be given due credit but they are considered as unlawful entities and are subjected to continuous harassment by municipal and Zimbabwe Republic Police.
“They have been subjected to arbitrary evictions from vending sites, arrests, assaults, confiscation of goods and several other forms of abuses.
“These abuses were sanctioned by the Minister of Local Government and National Housing, Saviour Kasukuwere who is also Zanu Pf national Political Commissar on the 1st of April 2015, which ordered Town Houses to rid CBDs of street vendors or risk themselves being rid of,” he said.
Wadzai said the exercise to remove vendors from the streets without offering them alternative vending spaces is ongoing regardless of VISET and other likeminded organizations’ calls for the immediate halt of the operation.
“If properly regulated, the small traders on the sidewalks can considerably add to the comfort and convenience of the public, by making available ordinary articles of everyday use for a comparatively lesser price.
“Urban vending is not only a source of employment but provides affordable services to much of urban population. An ordinary person, not very affluent, while hurrying towards home after a day’s work, can pick up these articles without going out of his way to find a regular market,” he said.
Wadzai added that the overall objective of the policy is to provide and promote a supportive for earning livelihoods by the street vendors, as well as ensure absence of congestion and maintenance of hygiene in public spaces and streets.
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