Calls for a lasting solution to illegal vending and waste management challenges along 5th and 6th Avenue are growing following concerns raised by residents, Bulawayo City councillors and road users over worsening litter and unsanitary conditions in the city centre.
Residents and councillors have complained about increasing piles of waste, blocked walkways and poor waste disposal practices around vending sites, saying the situation is becoming a health hazard and disrupting movement within the central business district.
Responding to the concerns in an interview with CITE, Bulawayo Vendors and Traders Organisation executive director Michael Ndiweni said vendors are often blamed for the growing waste problem, but argued that the issue is more complex because of the unresolved status of 5th Avenue.
“We have done a lot of work around awareness on waste management, including reducing, reusing and recycling waste in areas such as 5th Avenue, which remains a very challenging space in terms of the by-laws,” said Ndiweni.
“This is not officially a market, so there is a contradiction because 5th Avenue was closed as a market, yet people are still operating there.”
Ndiweni said the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) faces difficulties collecting refuse from an area where vendors are allegedly operating outside the formal system.
“There is also a challenge for the council because they have to collect waste from a place that is generally not recognised as a market. According to BCC, the people operating there are not paying anything to the local authority because they are not supposed to be there,” he said.
“There are allegations that some vendors pay money to space barons who claim to protect them. They pay allegiance to those individuals instead of paying the local authority.”
He said council is left with the burden of cleaning the area despite receiving no direct revenue from the vendors operating there.
“All the waste that you see there now is waste that the Bulawayo City Council has to clean using resources from elsewhere,” said Ndiweni.
“It would make more sense if those people were paying council because then the local authority would have an obligation to provide waste collection services using the revenue collected.”
Ndiweni said a long-term solution would require collaboration between vendors, council and other stakeholders.
“Until there is a multi-stakeholder solution where people are either allowed to operate there and the area is formalised into a market, or an alternative space is found to relocate traders, we will continue seeing the same problems,” he said.
“If the area is maintained strictly as a road, then we will begin to see changes.”
He said the association continues educating vendors on maintaining cleanliness in their workspaces.
“As an organisation, we have been unequivocal about proper waste management and keeping workspaces clean. Those who subscribe to our association understand that we do not condone littering in the city,” he said.
However, Ndiweni argued that littering in Bulawayo is not only caused by vendors but reflects a wider public behaviour problem.
“The issue of littering is not only about vendors but about the entire city,” he said.
“We have seen people in public transport throwing waste out of windows onto the road, and others drinking juice in town before throwing bottles onto pavements.”
He said poor waste disposal habits were also common at shopping centres, public gatherings and parking areas.
“It is also a psychological and behavioural issue when it comes to waste management,” he added.
A vendor operating near the market, Thokozani Mhlophe, said traders were aware of the complaints raised by residents and commuters but stressed that many vendors were simply trying to earn a living.
“We understand why residents and people using the city centre are complaining because the place sometimes becomes very dirty, especially when there is too much waste and no proper collection,” said Mhlophe.
“Some vendors clean their spaces every day, but there are also customers and members of the public who throw litter around, making the situation worse.”
She said many vendors were struggling to support their families due to limited employment opportunities.
“Most vendors are only trying to survive and feed their families because jobs are difficult to find,” she said.
Mhlophe added that vendors also needed properly designated vending spaces with bins and organised waste collection systems.
“If council, vendors and organisations can work together and create proper markets, then the issue of littering can improve because people will know where to operate from and there will be proper waste management,” she said.
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