Bulawayo councillors want soldiers deployed to deal with vendors

BULAWAYO councillors have suggested government must deploy the military to chase vendors from the city's streets.

The vendors sell various wares on the streets, at intersections and pavements.

At a recent full council meeting, councillors Sikhululekile Moyo and Felix Mhaka suggested that assistance from the police and the army was necessary especially after 4pm..

According to minutes of the meeting, Moyo said: "Vendors have become a huge menace. Driving along 6th Avenue had now proved to be impossible."

Responding to the councillors concerns, the Chamber Secretary Sikhangele Zhou admitted that illegal vending was now out of control in the city.

"Several unfruitful engagements had been conducted accordingly. Efforts were being made with the respective stakeholders on how best to curb illegal vending. Law enforcement was required to restore order in the city," Zhou told the councillors.