Market Bailiffs who monitor COVID-19 compliance in markets under the Market Aggregation COVID-19 Vendors Response – Market Access project funded by Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund (ZRBF) under the Sizimele Consortium have observed that only vendors and traders with licenses are allocated designated vending bays and are the only ones allowed to operate in markets.
Most vendors and informal traders are not licensed resulting in them trading in undesignated areas, this is due to the centralisation of license offices and slow process during the current licensing process.
Speaking on condition of anonymity to the Special Edition Vendors Voice one prominent trader said the licensing process has not been very clear, transparent nor smooth over the years. “Look, right now preference and priority is being given to traders in the CBD, when are they going to license traders in high density areas who are also equally deserving to trade in proper designated areas?” quizzed the trader.
A significant number of vendors and informal traders told Market Bailiffs that they possess expired licenses and have been failing to renew them, because the local authority has not released a clear schedule on the licensing process. It has been observed that vendors who have licenses easily abide by local authority By-laws, regulations and can easily adhere to stipulated laws like trading in designated areas.
Some Small and Medium Enterprise owners have been trained on the importance of obtaining licenses through the Business and Financial Literacy trainings under the Market Aggregation Project. Most of them now have the requirements for obtaining a license which include fingerprints and passport sized photos, however council has not initiated the schedule for applications in high density areas.
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