Gweru vendors, who ply their trade at illegal points in the city have resisted calls by the city council to vacate the sites, saying they were forced into those places by economic hardships.
BY Stephen Chadenga
Council issued an ultimatum on Tuesday advising vendors to leave the places or risk being forcibly evicted.
“All vendors are advised to return to designated bays by February 28, failure of which they risk having their goods confiscated,” town clerk Elizabeth Gwatipedza said.
The local authority also warned those who leave push carts in the central business district and people who trade goods from the back of their vehicles to move from the streets, failure of which they would be clamped.
But the vendors told NewsDay Weekender yesterday that they would resist the evictions and were ready for a “bloodbath” with municipal police.
Gweru Hawkers and Vendors’ Association acting chairperson Lovemore Tingaka said there was need to stop forced evictions and engage vendors.
“The issue is not to force people to move away from the streets, but to engage in dialogue to map the way forward,” he said.
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“I don’t see people leaving undesignated points. In fact, these vendors are ready for war.”
A vendor, Trynos Mushavi, who sells various items outside one of the major supermarkets in the city, said he was not going anywhere and was ready for battle with municipal police.
He said the newly-built vending stalls at Swift, which are outside the city centre, were too distant from potential customers.
In recent months the Midlands capital’s central business district has witnessed a proliferation of vendors on pavements as well as others who sell goods from push carts and vehicle backs.
Gwatipedza was yesterday said to be out of office to comment on the refusal by vendors to move from undesignated points.
