Informal Traders Cry Foul Over New Lockdown Measures

Traders in Zimbabwe’s informal sector have lamented the reimposition of a strict lockdown announced by Health and Child Care Minister and co-Vice President Constantino Chiwenga last week.

In a combined statement under the Informal Economy Agenda Coalition, the traders appealed for increased social protection from the Government, saying it would have been better if those who are licenced were allowed to operate in compliance with COVID-19 protocols. The statement read in part:

We are concerned that market places have been placed on outright closure. It would have been preferable if licenced traders were allowed to continue operating with strict COVID-19 protocols compliance.

It is of concern to the informal sector representative organisations that there are no provisions for social protections for vulnerable groups of people such as members of our organisations.

Under the new lockdown measures, only essential service providers such as hospitals, supermarkets and pharmacies will be open between 8 am to 3 pm.

This comes after the country recorded a surge in new coronavirus cases, with 774 cases recorded on Sunday, the highest number of cases per day since the first case was reported in the country in March 2020.

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