The Sunday Mail
Informal vendors
The Harare City Council plans to introduce mobile vending to restore sanity in the capital.
According to recent Education, Health, Housing and Community and Licensing Committee minutes, the local authority approved implementation of the project in the Central Business District.
“The committee had before it a report by the Corporate Services and Housing Director (Mrs Josephine Ncube) on erection of vending infrastructure (vending booths) on council approved site Chinhoyi Street/ Samora Machel Avenue and Easy Park (4th Street) on a pilot project basis by Imhanya Trading (Pvt) Ltd.
“The vending booths could accommodate a minimum of two vendors and a maximum of twenty (20) vendors per structure.
“The structures were user friendly, comprised of lockable cubicles for security, well ventilated with provision of ablution facilities which could be connected to council’s sewer lines or could be connected to a portable septic tank. They are fitted with water tanks and were portable in the event of any site(s) relocation.”
The committee said mobile vending booths could reduce illegal vending on city pavements.
Combined Harare Residents Association executive director Mr Mfundo Mlilo said: “The city needs to come up with sustainable solutions, the mobile booths are temporary because vendors actually carry them back to First Street and this might cause more chaos than before.”
Recently, the council budgeted US$60 million for construction of vending sites.
Further, Town clerk Dr Tendai Mahachi said the city would build a US$30 million business complex in Shawasha Mbare and another US$20 million vending site in Simon Vengai Muzenda Road.
“The Shawasha business complex will be the biggest and it will accommodate different facilities and will be able to take in 6 000 informal traders, while the one along Simon Vengai Muzenda will accommodate about 2 000 vendors and the one along Beatrice will accommodate 1 000 vendors,” he said.
