CHINHOYI – EXPECTATIONS among women and youths following last month’s
harmonised elections are that those elected should play a critical role in promoting the
lives of the people represented.
Women should be assisted to emancipate and empower themselves and influence their
day-to-day activities that benefit their lives, families, constituencies and communities.
Observations from a survey carried out by the, Mashonaland West Province, Business
Development Officer, Munyaradzi Muzamana shows that there is need for the
empowerment of women in all spheres of human life – training, access to cheap capital,
market access and grants to students at tertiary institutions.
Locadia Murinhwa, a youth from Chinhoyi, suggested that vocational training centres
should be established and offer programmes at affordable fees so to cater for all the
youths who are at home doing nothing.
“If these youths have nothing to do, it leads them into doing drugs and substance
abuse, which causes high crime rates and early marriages just to mention a few,” said
Murinhwa.
Norah Chigwededza, from Chikonohono, said industries should be established so that
they have jobs.
“Please may we also have places where we can sell our goods, which is a free space
where by revenue collectors from the council people will not come and chase us away?
“This US$1 which we pay to the council is just too expensive for us, I suggest that we
should pay it every month end because we also pay for transport, which is another
US$1 from the locations where we stay and coming to town where we sell our goods,”
said Chigwededza.
She said they also have obligations to buy food at home, pay school fees, buy clothes
for their families from vending and it is not always that their goods are always bought
because at times things gets really tough.
Janet Chiwanza from Coldstream said she was given a vendor’s permit at the council,
which costs US$17.50
“After paying vendors permit, they then limit me on the food stuffs to sell, they want me
to sell their product only, which is drinks from Pepsi only, and this is a disadvantage to
me because if a person buys a drink obviously that person will look for some biscuits or
buns to go with the drink.
”It really hurts me if the person buys buns or biscuits from someone else leaving me
and going with their money away from me, yet I am capable of providing the same food
stuff,” said Chiwanza.
Chiwanza added that people from council also come every week collecting US $1,
adding that this is not fair, especially when vendors are paying the vendors’ permit. She
suggested that vendors should not pay the US$1 and that council should provide a
clean and healthy environment or work spaces.
