THE government has ordered Harare City Council to remove all vendors in the city centre ahead of the International Conference on HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections (ICASA) in order to give a picture of a well-organised municipality.
BY MOSES MATENGA
Harare Metropolitan minister Miriam Chikukwa reportedly wrote to Harare mayor Bernard Manyenyeni directing him to ensure vendors are flushed out ahead of the international conference.
Manyenyeni confirmed receiving the letter dated October 21 requesting that he acts on vendors before the ICASA conference. The letter was copied to Local Government minister Saviour Kasukuwere and Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Misheck Sibanda.
Zimbabwe will host thousands of delegates from all over the world for the conference commencing next week.
Chikukwa, in the letter seen by NewsDay, was concerned with the proliferation of vendors in the city.
“I have noticed with concern that the number of vendors operating within the central business district has increased tremendously over the past few weeks,” she said.
“I understand that the Harare City Council launched an offensive to remove these vendors last week, which resulted in violent clashes between your officers and the vendors. This simply means Harare is facing strong resistance from the vendors and is overwhelmed by the situation.”
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Chikukwa added: “I am, therefore, suggesting that you write to Local Government, Public Works and National Housing minister [Saviour Kasukuwere] requesting for his assistance in removing all vendors from undesignated vending sites within the city.”
Chikukwa said the deadline for the removal of all vendors should be before the beginning of the ICASA conference.
“I would like to see this situation resolved before the start of the International Conference on HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections, which will be hosted by Harare Metropolitan province,” she said.
Manyenyeni, however, said the letter was not an order, but a request that was also copied to Kasukuwere.
“It wasn’t an order, it was asking me to request minister Kasukuwere to help clear the city of vendors,” he said.
But vendors yesterday threatened to take their wares to the Harare International Conference Centre, where the conference will take place to “widen their market base to the international community”.
“We will take our wares there so that the international community sees how hardworking we are as Zimbabweans,” Zimbabwe Informal Sector Organisation director, Promise Mkwananzi said.
National Vendors’ Union of Zimbabwe chairman Sten Zvorwadza said they would launch massive demonstrations on the day if Chikukwa has her way in trying to block them.
