Hilary Gomo is a vendor confined to a wheel chair and earns a living through selling pirated discs in the city centre.
His “boss” — the able-bodied man on whose behalf he sells the discs — is in an “office” just across the road from Hilary’s work station busy “burning” other CDs. Hilary’s salary amounts to a plate of sadza and a dollar for transport every day.
There are no other significant incentives. This is the monotonous life he has been living since he left a rehabilitation centre in Harare a few years back.
A stroll in Harare shows disabled people stashed with pirated discs for sale are now a common phenomenon.
Investigations showed the vendors have resorted to “employ” disabled people so as to avoid “hide and seek” with municipal police who tend to have a soft stance toward the disabled.
Harare city council spokesperson Leslie Gwindi is on record saying although there was no statutory instrument offering preferential treatment to disabled vendors, they often made “moral considerations” when dealing with them.
A female municipal officer who spoke to NewsDay admitted they were often compassionate in dealing with the disabled.
She said: “We also have a conscience. We deliberately leave them out when we arrest other vendors. We understand their plight.”
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
An able bodied vendor who only identified himself as Takura said council had declared ‘war’ on them and they have to use sophisticated means to get round the challenges they encounter in selling their merchandise.
“We are trying to live a decent life and the police are always on our trail cashing in on us, but ever since I employed my disabled relative, my fortunes have changed for the better. The police don’t harass disabled people,” he admitted.
He, just like other vendors however refused abusing their disabled workers, and believes they have actually thrown them a lifeline by offering them employment. But a significant number of the disabled vendors hinted they were ill-treated at the hands of their employers.
“When my employer approached me, he was compassionate. He promised that my life would change for the better. He even promised to buy groceries but this has remained a pipe dream,” said one disabled vendor.
Most of the disabled vendors said their deaf and dumb colleagues who have struck a rich vein through the sell of mobile phone recharge cards were better off.
“Whoever helped the deaf community should also assist us, we have special needs like them and we have the skill but we do not have the capital, that is why we are being abused,” said another vendor who refused to be identified.
A human rights activist, Adeline Makaro, says the government should help the disabled come up with viable income-generating projects.
“The government should have projects and self sustaining schemes for the disabled. The national budget should have a certain amount reserved for these people. Disability does not mean inability. That stereotype should change as we have moved from the medieval era where these people were treated as outcasts,” said Makaro.
She urged society not to take advantage by abusing the disabled.
“We are all human beings. The difference is only that some have all organs of their bodies functioning well. There is nothing wrong in employing the handicapped. But the only problem is when one takes advantage and exploits these people. Everyone is entitled to a wage or salary after he or she completes the work, it is an insult to give someone just a plate of sadza as a wage, the long arm of the law should bring the culprits to book and face the music,” she added.
Vendors are not the only ones who have come under the spotlight for abusing the physically-challenged. It is common knowledge that most car dealers used disabled people to evade customs duty on the country’s borders.
Last year, police exposed a syndicate, which was operating between the Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa borders.
In a March this year, a three-man team from the National Association of Societies for the Care of the Handicapped toured eight urban councils across the country to establish what councils were doing to ensure disability inclusion and participation to offset rampant marginalisation of people living with disabilities in all manner of societal activity.
The visit resulted in the targeted local councils conceding the need to ensure disability inclusion in the councils’ multifaceted activities like availing of employment opportunities.
