BULAWAYO vendors have criticised new government trading hours requiring informal traders in central business districts (CBDs) to close by 6pm, saying longer operating hours would give traders more time to earn a living and support economic activity.
Under the new regulations, vendors operating in CBDs across Zimbabwe must stop trading at 6pm, while those in residential areas can operate until 8pm.
The new trading hours took immediate effect in all 92 local authorities. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works Tafadzwa Muguti announced the changes in Harare on Thursday as the government moves to regulate vending ahead of another National Cleanup Campaign.
Executive Director of the Bulawayo Vendors and Traders Organisation Michael Ndiweni said restricting trading hours would undermine economic activity, particularly for businesses that depend on customers outside normal working hours.
On this topic
“We have always argued that flourishing economies don’t sleep. I think we should be encouraging people to work even at night because that’s when economies actually thrive. We make money every day and economies grow. So if you go to other countries outside Zimbabwe, in some advanced economies, you find that you can get anything at night. But why then, in our case, should traders stop trading at 6pm. Businesses should be curtailed,” Ndiweni said.
Ndiweni, however, said traders also needed to operate from designated vending areas to reduce confrontations with municipal police and established businesses.
“The main cause for the violence from the municipal police and traders is that some traders may be working from places that are not designated, so obviously then that causes such confrontations and defections. So I think it is the duty of the traders to also work from where they are designated as much as they are also, of course, persuading them, because now there are conflicts even beyond the traders and municipal police. They are also conflicts between traders and other shop owners, particularly those big shops, who are saying that the traders are sitting in front of their shops and they are paying taxes, and the traders are working from where they are not designated, so these are the challenges that cause all these confrontations and defections,” Ndiweni said.
He also disputed the view that vendors were solely responsible for littering in the city, saying members of the public also contributed to the problem.
“On the issue of littering, we need to actually segment it. We cannot fully say vendors are liable to waste or litter in the city. We see the littering that we see in the streets. Look at areas where there are porcelain stores. You’ll be shocked at the litter that you see there. So it has nothing to do with the vendors. Walk around the streets, you’ll see someone just having ice cream and then throwing the plastic on the street. Everyone is complicit in terms of littering. Yes, of course, there are challenges with vendors, particularly those that seem not to be paying anything to the council, who accumulate waste and then that waste has to be collected by someone. In this case, the council also says, the traders that are making litter are not contributing anything. So where do we then get the resources to clean when they are not paying anything? So there is that challenge,” Ndiweni said.
He said keeping Bulawayo clean should be treated as a shared responsibility rather than placing the blame on vendors.
“The issue of littering is the responsibility of everyone. Because I’ve seen, I’ve observed almost every citizen, including motorists, have their drinks and throw litter outside. So it’s a cultural issue, it’s an attitude issue. It’s a value system issue beyond just being an issue of vendors. If we are serious about keeping our city clean, I think we should be able to, without assigning the blame to anyone,” Ndiweni said.
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