Vendors from the capital city, Harare has expressed concern over the state of market places in the city centre which the city fathers are forcing them to operate from.
The vendors have not minced their words and made it clear that marketing places are depleted.
In a baseline survey done by the Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (VISET), it was evident that the current economic meltdown that the country is facing has brought a number of challenges, however the government has been challenged to make a move in improving the market places.
“The problems we have in informal sector are lack of adequate market spaces, lack of utilities such as toilets, water, shelter and electricity at the few available market spaces,” read part of the survey.
VISET urban planner O’Brien Makore also added his voice on the issues raised by the survey pinpointing some of the market places in Harare which vendors have abandoned because of these conditions.
“We have market places like the one at Machipisa, vendors occupy 30 percent of the place and 70 percent is free because the place is not friendly. There are no toilets and water, so no vendor would like to go and pay for that place,” said Makore adding that vendors would rather choose a road side place.
Makore also highlighted that as vendors, they are forced to pay exorbitant rates for these dilapidated market places whilst the city fathers do not prioritize their face lift.
He however urged the council to allow vendors to have specific hours and streets in the capital to sell their goods.
He also added that it will be better if Harare has more pedestrian streets like first street to allow vendors to do their business.
