Harare City Council has failed to remove vendors

HARARE City Council has admitted failure to remove vendors from the streets as instructed by the Government amid a Cholera outbreak that is ravaging Zimbabwe.

Today, the Government met the media to give an update on the state of water, sanitation, hygiene and current cholera outbreak control in Zimbabwe.

Present was the Minister of Information Dr Jenfan Muswere, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Dr Anxious Masuka, Minister of Health and Child Care Dr Douglas Mombeshora and Information Permanent Secretary Mr Nick Mangwana, Senior Government officials, representatives from Harare City Council and other relevant stakeholders.

Dr Prosper Chonzi made the admission during the meeting.

"An order was made for us to remove all the food vendors in Harare to ensure that our streets are clean. But as you have seen we haven't done very well there. The general economy is playing against us. We have been playing hide and seek after vendors and it isn't working. We are glad now that the Government has come up with Chenesa Harare, and if we clean-up for now then we come up with medium and long term plans to maintain the clean environment that's there," said Dr Chonzi.

"As the Director of Health in the City, I'm not happy with the vending situation in the city, it's plain against what we are trying to achieve and contain the outbreak. And trying to enforce not giving us the intended results."

He said there needs to be a change of mind-set and people should know that they will contract other diseases besides Cholera.

"What we may then have to rely on is a complete mind-set change where people know that if you buy food from uninspected places there are chances of you contracting not only cholera but dysentery or typhoid," said Dr Chonzi.