Vendor’s organisations from around Harare have expressed outrage over council’s decision to hike levies by over 100%.
BY VANESSA GONYE
Speaking to NewsDay Weekender, Vendors’ Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (Viset) and Grassroots for Empowerment Projects said the move by council to increase tariffs for weekend vendors was unfair because it overlooked the challenges the informal traders were going through.
“The increase in vending rates is ridiculously extortionist and was done without any consultation whatsoever with the vendors. The consultations that Viset is presently seized with are to the effect that the rates, which stood at $1,25 per day, before being increased to $3, were way beyond what the vendors are able to pay given the liquidity crunch the country is facing which has left customers with little or no disposable incomes,” Viset director Samuel Wadzai said.
The tariff hike contradicted recent pleas by the vendor organisations for council to revise downwards the daily tariffs which stood at $1,25 at the time.
“In April this year, we submitted a dossier to Harare City Council’s informal sector committee and the mayor requesting a downward variation of these rates only to be met with the increased rates on Tuesday,” he said.
Grassroots for Empowerment Projects national chairperson Alexio Mudzengerere said: “The council wants to take advantage of the current state of the economy. They should create proper vending stalls and good payment systems.”
The two also cited misuse of funds from the collection of the tariffs which they said should benefit vendors.
