According to analysts, the root of the high unemployment lies is bad economic policies, and in particular the 'Indigenisation policy' that scares away potential investors by forcing them to give a large chunk of their shareholding to locals identified by the government.
Enterprising vendors are doing brisk business by selling food and beverages to people who are burying their loved ones. This is a shocking situation that used to be a taboo and totally unacceptable in rural Zimbabwean culture.
At Granville Cemetery a.k.a. KuMbudzi, vendors confirmed that they were making more money than they could in the city centre. A vendor who identified himself as Sydney told this reporter that on a ‘good’ day, he takes home at least $30, but would earn less than half this amount in the city centre.
No cops here
“At the cemetery there are no hassles .There are no police officers here who demand bribes from us,” said Sydney who sells sadza to mourners.
In the city centre vendors and municipal police are always at each other’s throats with the latter accusing the former of conducting illegal business. In turn, vendors accuse the municipal police of demanding bribes from them.
“Business is good here because there are no shops nearby. People come early in the morning to scout and dig graves so when they get hungry and thirsty we make sales,” said a middle aged lady selling soft drinks.
The Zimbabwean even came across a young man selling beer. “I bring at least five crates of beer cans with me and the same quantity of opaque beer and I run out of stock within a few hours. What I can tell you? This is the place to sell your stuff,” he said.
A woman who had come to bury her late aunt did have some reservations. “Yes, we do buy from these vendors because there are no shops nearby, but I think there are health risks associated with the practice. As you can see, some vendors sell dried fish and sadza that might be contaminated. We should consider our health when we buy their food,” she said.
Failure
Sten Zvorwadza, chairperson of the National Vendors Union of Zimbabwe confirmed that vendors were now selling food at cemeteries and attributed the situation to the failing economy.
“There is no stronger sign of the government's failure to create employment for its people than what we are seeing here. In normal economies, businesses close during funerals as a sign of respect, the opposite is what is happening here now. This shows that people are suffering and they will try anything and everything to earn a living,” he said.
Harare city council spokesperson Michael Chideme said that they had noted with great concern this ‘sad’ development.
“It must be known that conducting any business in a non-designated site under the jurisdiction of Harare City Council is illegal. We are aware that there are people who sell fruit and water at cemeteries. As the responsible authority, we are planning to identify sites at cemeteries that will be designated for business because there is a genuine need for establishing such sites,” he said.
Post published in: News