ROSELINE MUTARE
-GWERU-Vegetable vendors in Gweru CBD are up in arms against Municipality Police whom they claim are harassing them and chasing them away from their trading places as they try to honestly eke a living.
The vendors say they are trying to earn a living by buying and selling, but the Municipal Police chase them away from the pavements where they will be doing their business.
Council says that the places where the vendors sell their wares are not designated selling points hence the cat and mouse relationship.
“Life is hard, there are no jobs and the only way to earn a living is by buying and selling vegetables and other things in demand, but the Municipal Police always come to confiscate our wares and arrest us for selling in front of major supermarkets like OK and Pick n Pay.
“We sell in front of these supermarkets because that is where most customers are found, it is unfortunate that we will be competing with them, but todii nhai mwanangu nemamiriro akaita nyika kudai,” said one elderly vegetable vendor at OK Supermarket who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of victimization.
Others suggested an indaba between the warring parties to find a way forward or a win, win solution.
‘We want to hear from them (Council) what they really want because sometimes they come to take our stuff and chase us away and if we approach their offices we are made to pay fines,” said one of the vendors.
“We spend a lot of our time running away from Council Police instead of selling to get that little money to feed our families, they should let us work for our families until things normalize then we can talk about designated vending sites,” added another vendor with her baby strapped at the back.
