Govt's vendors ultimatum triggers panic

Informal traders have appealed for a 90-day moratorium on the government's September 9 deadline to remove them from unauthorised vending sites, arguing that authorities have not provided enough lawful and serviced trading spaces to accommodate thousands of vendors.

The government has given illegal vendors operating in Harare until Wednesday to vacate unauthorised sites ahead of a nationwide clean-up operation targeting informal traders.

Local Government and Public Works minister Daniel Garwe issued the ultimatum last week, warning that a "comprehensive, zero-tolerance clean-up operation" would begin immediately after the deadline, starting in Harare before spreading to cities, towns and urban settlements across the country.

Garwe said the operation would target illegal vending structures, stalls and trading sites in Harare's central business district and the wider Harare Metropolitan Province.

He said municipal police would remain deployed in cleared areas to prevent vendors from returning.

According to Garwe, illegal vending has contributed to poor sanitation, blocked public pathways, disrupted formal businesses and increased congestion in the capital.

However, in a petition dated September 3, informal traders, represented by We the People, People's Parliament through its social services, labour and informal economy portfolio committee, called for the deadline to be extended and for authorities to establish more lawful trading spaces.

The petition was submitted in response to Garwe's directive ordering informal traders to vacate unauthorised sites and relocate to designated vending markets.

The traders argued that the directive was difficult to implement because there were not enough designated spaces to accommodate the tens of thousands of people currently dependent on informal trading.

They claimed Harare City Council and neighbouring local authorities did not have sufficient vacant, equipped and safe stalls to absorb even 5% of the existing informal trading workforce within seven days.

The traders said they supported efforts to create clean, orderly and safe urban environments but wanted the government to adopt a more practical approach to regularising the sector.

"While we recognise the ministry's objective to foster an orderly, clean and safe urban environment, we submit this urgent appeal to highlight the stark reality on the ground, invoke our constitutional rights, remind the government of its policy promises under the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2), and request an immediate extension of time alongside a collaborative roadmap toward regularisation," the petition said.

The traders maintained that many of them were willing to comply with regulations and pay municipal fees if appropriate trading spaces were provided.

"We do not vendor on street corners out of defiance, lawlessness or a desire to obstruct traffic, and we actively seek to be registered, to pay municipal market fees, to obey health regulations and to trade inside designated, sheltered and serviced markets," they said.

They warned that demolishing existing vending structures without providing viable alternatives would have severe consequences for thousands of households.

"Ordering citizens to ‘relocate immediately' to spaces that have not been constructed is an impossible mandate, and demolishing our modest structures without providing viable, alternative sites will instantly plunge thousands of honest families into absolute destitution," the petition said.

The traders also challenged the government to address the broader economic conditions that have pushed many Zimbabweans into informal trading.

"Until industrial growth and formal corporate expansion absorb our youth, university graduates, women and breadwinners, street vending remains our sole legitimate survival strategy," they said.

They argued that penalising people for engaging in informal trading while waiting for promised job creation under NDS2 would undermine the government's stated goal of building an inclusive upper-middle-income economy.

The petition comes as informal trading continues to expand as Zimbabweans seek alternative sources of income amid limited formal employment opportunities and persistent economic hardship.

The traders are now seeking a 90-day moratorium to allow government and local authorities to register vendors, identify suitable trading locations and develop serviced markets before enforcement measures are implemented.