Two years after informal traders were relocated from the city centre following the decentralisation of vending activities, are still to be allocated vending bays by the Bulawayo City Council (BCC).
More than 600 vendors who were trading at the Fifth Avenue market were moved to vending spots closest to their places of residence.
However, the process of constructing proper infrastructure has been slow.
Speaking during an interface meeting hosted by Vendors Initiative for Socio-Economic Transformation, some vendors revealed that they are still operating from undesignated areas.
“We don’t have vending stalls, as vendors, we are just scattered around, our wish is for every vendor to have a vending bay where he/she operates,” said one vendor, Stella Fumayi.
She appealed to the local authority to allocate them proper vending bays, especially for those who pay vending licences.
“It’s not fair for me as a vendor to pay for a vending licence whilst other vendors are not paying and they are also competing for the space that I am paying for, this makes it hard for the dedicated vendors who want to pay their licenses to continue paying if Council is not cooperating,” said Fumayi.
Another vendor, Nomagugu Ndlovu said there are no proper ablution facilities where they operate from.
Meanwhile, VISET information and publicity Officer, Jabulani Chikomwe said the interface meeting will be followed by a survey that will be looking at the challenges faced by vendors.
“We will be then meeting with solution holders hopefully the ward councilor and Bulawayo City Council officials as well to get their feedback as to what would have come out of the survey,” said Chikomwe.
Contacted for a comment, BCC Corporate Communications Manager Nesisa Mpofu said plans were still underway to construct the vending bays.
