3 Million Voices
Spiwe Tembo, an informal trader who makes her living selling
buns, is handcuffed to another vendor after being arrested by
police in Harare. AFP/Jekesai Njikizana
During April, citizens who had endured the first two months of the year under lockdown,
found themselves having to learn new coping mechanisms to survive in the largely
informalised economy of Zimbabwe.
Notably in Harare and Bulawayo, where there is usually a high number of vendors and
informal traders, law enforcement agents remained in the streets to contain the surge in
vending activities.
Vendors returned to their usual spots in the two city centres and during the month,
municipal officers were carrying out massive patrols to raid and arrest vendors.
The municipal officers used all forms of methods, including assault and beatings to clamp
down on the vendors.
Municipal officers and the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) continued to carry out joint
operations to impound public buses that operated outside the government ZUPCO subsidy
project.
Just as with vendors, the municipal police and ZRP used all sorts of unconventional
methods including smashing windows, deploying spikes to deflate tyres and assaulting bus
crews and members of the public.
2.4.1 Expert Perspective
Samuel Wadzai
Executive Director
Vendors Initiative for Socio-Economic Transformation
The informal sector has become the way of survival in Zimbabwe and no amount of trying
to rub it off using force can work.
We recommend that government and local authorities to accept that Zimbabwe’s economy
is largely informalised and therefore these two authorities should work towards creating an
environment that is conducive.
What they should be doing is to fast track the formalization of the informal sector. The
bylaws should be changed to suit the largely informal situation such that these running
battles come to an end. Government and local authorities should build adequate
infrastructure to cater for those in the informal sector.
Decisions should be made with the involvement and consultation of all the people to be
affected and this way, there can be an all-inclusive solution, where everyone will have
ownership.
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