Angelah Nothando Mlotshwa
It was business as usual this morning in the Bulawayo Central Business District with vendors and transporters continuing to operate at sites that the Bulawayo City Council says are undesignated points.
The City Council had threatened to unleash a clean up campaign similar to central government’s 2005 operation dubbed ‘Murambatsvina’.
Most people expected to witness running battles between the Municipal police, vendors and transport operators but it appears as if the City Fathers chickened out on a D-day of the operation.
The vendors that ZIM GBC NEWS spoke to gloated about their affiliation to the ruling ZANU-PF party, saying that the operation had been cancelled after central government intervened.
“Some ZANU-PF officials came here and gathered people in small groups telling us not to move and urging us to continue with our daily routine”, said a vendor named Tafadzwa Masvosve.
“Yes some ZANU-PF officials have told us to continue doing our business…unfortunately I did not get their names or where they can be found”, said another vendor.
Another defiant vendor said the informal traders had come together with a plan to resist council’s moves meant to drive them away from their current places of business in the CBD.
“They are saying they will chase us, _varikuzvitambira avo kana vakuda kutidzinga they will come and announce that to us”, said Febby Muzunze.
Meanwhile, the Bulawayo City Council admits that it faces a mammoth task in it’s mission to rid the CBD of illegal vendors.
The BCC Chamber Secretary Skhangezile Zhou said the vendors operating from 5th avenue who mostly identify with the ruling ZANU-PF will be hard to evict.
“The issue of 5th avenue is a big problem to us as the BCC. When we relocated vendors to well serviced sites we were shocked later on to find some people parceling out space to would be vendors. When our municipal police got involved, violent scenes broke out”, Zhou said while contributing during the BCC engagement meeting with business community ahead of the clean up exercise that was supposed to take place this Wednesday.
“We understand there is poverty, we understand people have to make a living but that has to be carried out in spaces that are clean and well serviced by the City Council”, added Zhou.
ZIM GBC NEWS gathered from some of the business people that engaged the City Council on this vending menace, that most of the illegal traders were protected and are employees of some ‘fat cats’ in the City.