Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (VISET) on Friday the 9th of June, held a Market Access Indaba that brought together Council officials, Councillors, informal traders and farmers operating in Harare and the surrounding areas.
The Principal Market Officer for Harare City Council Mr. Banda said they are aware of the limited trading space for informal traders and that in response to this pressing challenge, informal traders could identify open spaces outside of CBD and approach Licensing Department. In Mabvuku, Hatcliff and Kuwadzana there are plans to upgrade these farmers markets. The current charges for the different categories of markets are;
1. Farmers markets pay a daily fee of $10
2. Retail and wholesale market $25 per month
The Chair of the Informal Sector Committee, Councillor Denford Ngadziore said that the Informal Sector Committee was introduced in 2017 to deal specifically with informal trader issues. The proposed Informal Sector policy which VISET played a role in drafting, is being completed and seeks to decentralize services such as licensing of markets and vendors to the district. Reclamation of dump sites in order to establish plant nurseries. He further revealed that every ward will also have a farmers market.
Ngadziore revealed that they held a meeting with municipal police in order to deal with use of excessive force. As a result of this, officers are currently undergoing refresher courses on how to handle informal traders. He urged informal traders to operate from established markets and shun spaces controlled by space barons as Council will not be receiving any revenue from these spaces yet they are required to provide services such as refuse collection. He xhorted informal traders to pay their operating fees in US$ so as to hedge against inflation which will assist Council in delivering timeous services.
The Harare City Council will soon launch an SME fund that will ring fence all revenue from informal traders and this amount will be used for infrastructure development such as markets and ablution facilities. There will also be a fund that will be specifically for informal traders to borrow funds for restocking and expanding their businesses.
All informal traders in operating in Harare will be required to have vendors cards that will be issued by Council.
A flower grower from Goromonzi revealed they are being short-changed by the traders operating from Africa Unity Square as they are restricted to selling between 8-10 AM then have the inconvenience of not being able to store their unsold flowers.
In response, Mr. Banda pledged to assist the growers with an alternate site near the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) complex.
In conclusion Gillian Chinzete VISET Programmes Manager urges both the traders and growers to operate harmoniously whilst the lease proposed by Mr. Banda is being pursued.