The vendors spot the navy blue and grey uniform and brown boots and they know. They whistle or shout warnings to each other and then scatter in different directions weaving through traffic, hiding behind cars, running into shops, buildings or sanitary lanes. They leave their goods behind or throw them into ditches or other hiding places.
If they are unlucky and get caught, they pay the price. Their goods are taken, and they are locked up or forced to pay a fine or both. It takes a few days before they recover both financially and emotionally and then they are back on the streets again and the cycle continues.
Valuable service
Vendors can be spotted everywhere. Their wares range from sweets and cigarettes to bananas, potatoes and even roasted mealies. They are persistent and annoying, yet they provide a valuable service.
They are chased off the streets because they do not have a licence to sell. Seldom are they arrested because of hygiene – yet they are usually surrounded by paper wrappers, empty cigarette boxes, banana peels, the leaves of green mealies and of course scratched out airtime cards.
Immediate post-independent Zimbabwe was the pride of Africa. Aptly named the Sunshine City, Harare was famous for its wide streets and avenues lined with magnificent jacaranda, flamboyant or bauhinia trees. There was order and safety. Traffic lights worked and the streets were clean. Bulawayo, Gweru, Mutare, Masvingo had equally enviable reputations. Three decades later, all this has changed.
Zimbabwe has experienced an economic meltdown that has seriously impacted the lives of ordinary people, forcing millions onto the streets in search of survival. One of the elderly vendors who resides in Mbare said, “my son it is better to come and sell something in town than to stay at home, steal or beg which is a bad thing… when you sell, you raise money to pay for your bills.”
A young man has been selling roasted mealies on the corner of Leopold Takawira and Nelson Mandela streets for over a year. He took to the streets when he dropped out of school at the end of Form 3 because his family could not afford the fees. In the short time he has been a vendor, he has managed to procure a stand and build two rooms in Kuwadzana Section 5.
$140 for a license
One mother said: “I used to work in the marketing department of a company, but because of poor remuneration, I left the job to be a vendor.”
The Hawkers and Street Vendors by-law section 4a) requires that “no person shall, whether as principal, agent or servant, carry on the business of a hawker unless he is in possession of a valid license or a disc…”
Interviews with a wide range of vendors revealed that they do not pay for licenses because these cost $140 “for a space where no one comes.” Obviously, the vendors prefer to operate in the city centre where there is a big market. “I am a grandmother, taking care of five orphans, where do you think I will find the money to buy a licence?” said one elderly vendor.
Food sold by vendors is usually placed in unclean plastic containers or on pieces of cardboard on the ground, irrespective of the Food Hygiene by-law section 8 k (II) which says “do not place any food lower than 500 millimeters from the ground on any pavement or in or about any forecourt or yard… ensure that open food, while displayed or exposed for sale or during delivery, is kept covered or is otherwise effectively screened so as to prevent any infection or contamination”.
Economic conflict
In pre-independence Zimbabwe, the health of the people who consumed food in restaurants and canteens was protected by the Food Hygiene by laws of 1975. Vendors operations today remain guided by the Hawkers and Street Vendors by laws of 1978.
The Combined Harare Residents Association representative, Mfundo Mlilo, says the country has a strong by-law system, but there is a strong conflict between the law and the current economic situation. “Policy monitoring, implementation and lack of adequate human resources in the city council are also factors leading to poor service delivery,” said Mlilo.
Canteens and backyard restaurants show scant respect for food hygiene. Many of the walls have paint peeling off, ceilings are almost coming down and walls contain stains of rain, food and oil. Employees do not conform to the needs of the by-laws. There are hardly any wash basins to be found and when they are, the taps are rusty and there is no running water.
Other mobile canteens sell tea, sadza and rice in plastic containers along the street corners in Harare at prominent places. Most of them are uncertified. “It is better for us to be charged $1/day by the council and allowed to sell our food on the streets,” suggested one Hatcliffe grandmother who was selling along Speke Avenue near Chinhoyi Street.
Zimbabwe’s Tourism Statutory Instrument 128 of 2005 also strengthens the requirements of the two by-laws on health through its call for a need to adhere to the sanitary norms through section 18: “every tourist facility shall ensure that its premises present no risk of contamination for the foodstuffs… that all rooms used for preparing food, interior walls and equipment shall be cleaned and disinfected after each period of work.”.
All these requirements are found at both local and international level. They are placed to help in minimizing food poisoning and restrict the public in suffering from contagious diseases.
Post published in: Analysis