Councilors in Bulawayo have expressed concern over the possibility of a Cholera breakout in the city should the municipality fail to take strict action to stop vendors from operating in undesignated areas.
This was revealed at the most recent Bulawayo Full Council meeting held on Wednesday at the council chambers.
Since late last month, Zimbabwe has recorded 100 suspected cholera deaths and over 5 000 possible cases, forcing the government to impose restrictions to halt the spread of the disease, including limiting the number of people attending funerals and prohibiting some social gatherings in affected areas.
Ward 3 Cllr Mxolisi Mhlanga noted with concern that the Central Business District (CBD) is usually flooded with vendors in the evenings, who operate at undesignated places that do not have adequate health security systems.
“As we are aware there has been a Cholera outbreak in Harare and other areas, so the migration of people who sell various wares may affect us. It will be difficult to contain Cholera once we have the outbreak here in Bulawayo. I hope we treat this with the seriousness it deserves,” Mhlanga said.
Mhlanga cited areas around Leopold Takawira and 9th Avenue as some of the hotspots, where a cholera outbreak may come from because of uncontrolled operations.
“If you walk between Leopold Takawira and 9th Avenue in the evening you find all kinds of activities. One person will be plaiting, another selling street food, another selling shoes and the other selling fruits. This is beyond illegal vendors and selling food at undesignated places. It is not something that the council can handle on its own. It needs stakeholder engagement-the vendors, police and political parties,” said the councillor.
“The city has become a place where hunters and the hunted live together. Because of the harsh living conditions, people are oblivious of the snowballing effects and consequences of operating without proper ablution facilities, access to clean and safe water to wash hands and other health security issues that are not being looked into.”
Mhlanga added that if these issues were unattended to, residents’ lives will be in danger.
“This is a clarion call to various stakeholders to put their heads together and fight this challenge,” he said.
Bulawayo Mayor, Cllr David Coltart, concurred that to curb this challenge, the city council must avail appropriate vending spaces for the informal traders.
“Vending areas must be availed as a matter of urgency and there is need for application of rule of council and rule of government, for the facilities to be quickly built,” Coltart said.
“There are three areas that we need to focus on. One is Egodini. The Town Clerk and I are meeting the contractor to try and unblock Egodini because that would provide some of the solutions.
“Secondly, we need to look at an area close to the current 5th Avenue. We can also look at the Highlanders Club where the bend-over is. But we can’t just open those grounds, we need to have a facility that is attractive. We need to have a large shed that will cover the whole ground, properly built, concrete on the floor, functional toilets, access to clean water, electricity and demarcated bays.”
The mayor said once such facilities are there, the city council can encourage vendors to move away from 5th Avenue to more hygienic operating areas.
“That way, their wares would not be affected by rain or heat. Even if the council does not have its funding, I believe these are the kinds of investments that development banks would like to do. But we need to get those plans, the town planning department must tell us what areas are appropriate for such establishments,” Coltart said.
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