SA sends Zimbabwe vendors home

SOUTH AFRICAN authorities at Beitbridge have ejected Zimbabwean vendors operating from across the border ordering them to return home to vote.

The authorities, including police, ordered the Zimbabweans to close shop from Thursday as the country prepares for watershed harmonised elections tomorrow.

"They asked us to close our spazas (shops) and return after August 8. They said we must go home," said one of the food vendors who identified herself only as Irene.

Some Zimbabweans who fled economic hardships have been living on the South African side of the border post where they cook and sell food.

Others are money changers taking advantage of that country's relaxed approach to illegal foreign exchange deals while some sell labour as porters for cross-border shoppers.