Representing informal economy associations, Samuel had the opportunity to participate in the Zimbabwe Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF) Global Summit 2026, held in Victoria Falls from 21–25 September 2026, under the theme “Inclusive Growth, Decent Work, Beneficiation & Investment Promotion.”
The Summit provided an important platform for dialogue on Zimbabwe’s economic and social development, bringing together Government, organised labour, business, civil society and international social dialogue institutions.
Samuel participated in discussions around expanding MSME access to finance, markets and stock exchange pathways, and later joined the panel on “The Price of Being Informal: Who Pays for the Economy Outside the System?”
From the perspective of informal economy workers, he emphasised that inclusive growth cannot be achieved while the people who sustain a significant part of our urban and local economies remain at the margins of policy and decision-making.
Samuel also raised the issue of vendor evictions and the manner in which informal traders have sometimes been removed from operating spaces. Informal economy associations’ position was that these challenges could have been managed better through structured dialogue, adequate notice, alternative trading spaces, transparent processes and genuine engagement with vendors before enforcement measures are implemented.
The associations view is that formalisation should not simply mean removing people from the streets. It should mean creating a pathway from informality towards secure livelihoods, appropriate infrastructure, access to finance, markets, social protection and decent work.
Another important issue was the expansion and strengthening of the TNF itself. If the TNF is to remain a meaningful platform for national social dialogue, its evolution should ensure that the voices of constituencies that are increasingly central to Zimbabwe’s economy—including informal economy workers, MSMEs, women, youth and other emerging forms of work—are meaningfully represented.
The Summit’s programme itself recognised the importance of structured social dialogue, including sessions on “Social Dialogue Institutions in Action” and “Structured Bipartite, Tripartite Engagement as an Investment Signal.”
The conversation therefore needs to move beyond simply asking who participates in social dialogue, towards asking whose realities are reflected in the decisions that emerge from that dialogue.
As VISET, we remain committed to ensuring that the voices, experiences and aspirations of informal economy workers are part of Zimbabwe’s national conversation on inclusive growth, decent work and economic transformation.
Social dialogue must be broad. Economic transformation must be inclusive. And formalisation must create opportunities—not displacement.
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