Vendors4ED Calls For Order Ahead Of SADC Summit
Vendors for Economic Development (Vendors4ED), a shadowy grouping with close ties to the ruling ZANU PF party, which campaigned for President Emmerson Mnangagwa in the August 2023 elections, has urged its members in Harare to maintain order ahead of the upcoming Southern African Development Community (SADC) Heads of State and Government Summit scheduled for August 17 in the capital.
Samora Chisvo, the national chairperson of Vendors 4ED, said that vending cannot be completely eradicated and appealed to the group’s members to continue behaving in an orderly manner.
Chisvo said they were working well with the government, but accused the Harare City Council (HCC) of harassing their members. Said Chisvo (via NewsDay):
We are working well with government through the Small and Medium Enterprises ministry but HCC has remained our major challenge as we are being chased away from the streets.
As the current hosts of the SADC summit and our President being the incoming chairperson, we will be expecting the vending community to behave in a good manner because as vendors we come from different backgrounds but there is no way the vending community can be eliminated because we are part of the value chain.
Harare mayor Jacob Mafume said they were not against the vending community and urged them to abide by by-laws. Said Mafume:
We are not against the vending community but our concern is that they should respect the by-laws.
This is our major concern and we have been engaging vendors several times on what we expect from them.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) in conjunction with the local authority recently launched a joint effort dubbed “Operation Guta Ngarigare Rakachena” targetting illegal vendors, car wash operators and mushikashika.
Police said only licensed vendors will be allowed to operate in Harare CBD during the SADC Summit.
More: Pindula News
