Bulawayo gives informal traders two week ultimatum to register for vending bays

The Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has given all informal traders operating in non-designated areas two weeks to register and be allocated designated vending bays as it moves to bring order and sanity as well as contain the raging cholera disease.

BCC town clerk Christopher Dube told the informal traders during a meeting at the Large City Hall on Wednesday that they had two weeks to comply, failure of which will result in arrest and prosecution.

“We are giving you up to February 2 to come and register and council will allocate you bays to conduct your businesses legally,” he said, adding that there are over 10 000 vending bays awaiting allocation.

“We want people to sell their wares in areas of their residence so that they don’t congest the city centre. After the deadline, law enforcement agents will be in full force to the enforce by-laws,” he said.

Dube added that the directive also applies to illegal commuter operators popularly known as “mushika-shika” which were bcausing chaos on the city roads.

He said the city council was implementing a directive from President Mnangagwa to ensure sanity is brought back in all cities and towns across the country.

“We are working on an instruction from the President to ensure we maintain order in the cities and towns. People should pay their dues to the council so that we deliver quality service,” he said.

“People have forgotten about paying levies to the council and they want to do as they please. From February 2, we are saying this culture has to end.”

Dube said the bays will be allocated to all vendors who would have registered, regardless of their political affiliation.

“There are some organisations coming to us demanding to be allocated bays in areas of their choice but as council we know the people we removed and those are the ones who will get first preference.

How do we allocate you a bay when you are just passing by? Bays are for those who are registered.

We have our own criteria to allocate those bays,” he said.

He also warned fresh produce wholesalers to desist from blocking roads in the city centre with their big trucks.

“We are going to open a designated place for wholesalers in Amakhosi to operate from. We are saying don’t come and congest our roads in the city.” he said.

Dube said the fresh produce wholesalers will also pay their levies to the local authority, adding that those selling second hand clothes and operating illegal backyard food outlets will be arrested.

“As council, we need your maximum cooperation to restore our city to its former glory. There are over 300 people sleeping in pavements without ablution facilities. This is a serious health hazard and mind you there is cholera which is killing people in country`s 58 districts and we need to be vigilant as residents and stakeholders. We can’t have people operating haphazardly in the city,” he said.

New Ziana