licenses

Hwange vendors commend slashing of vending license fees

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Hwange Rural District Council recently slashed the vending licence fees, effectively reducing the burden for vendors who are already grappling with a decline in businesses exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Vendors have applauded the local authority for slashing vending licenses by 75%, from an RTGS equivalent of 120 usd per year to 30usd per year. This development comes as a relief for the informal traders who fork out rentals that range between 10 usd and 30 usd, depending on the size of the vending stall. Vendors have commended the local authority’s resolution reached after months of advocating for a reduction of licence fees which were impeding negatively on profit margins, thus affecting livelihoods. “While we appreciate the reduction of vending licence fees we are struggling to pay rentals on time because of low business,” said Christabel Kajamusuma, one of the vendors at a Hwange Rank Market. “Business is very low since the banning of intercity travel and for now we are only breaking even,” she added. Vendors also raised concern over their unlicensed counterparts who sell wares on street pavements and along roadsides, citing that the latter unfairly make huge profits. “We pay monthly rentals and obtain annual vending permits but there are some unlicensed vendors who operate in profitable areas and make more money than us. We are losing business to these vendors and nothing much is being done to provide a permanent solution to this challenge,” said a vendor who spoke on condition of anonymity. Unlicensed vendors are frequently raided by law enforcement agents but this has not been a deterrent given the prevailing harsh economic climate characterised by deepening poverty levels.

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Market Bailiffs Celebrate Improved Sanitary Standards

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Market Bailiffs have been re-deployed under the Sizimele Market Aggregation Project to monitor compliance in market places in regard to COVID-19 regulations and sensitise people on mitigation strategies to reduce the spread of the virus. Market Bailiffs have also been raising awareness in market places about the Bulawayo City Council Bylaws, these being the laws which govern the informal sector in the city. Market Bailiffs have reported on improved sanitation levels in different markets in the city from the time they started visiting the markets. They also claim victory for this positive development as they have been visiting markets weekly and stressing to informal traders on the importance of hygiene in the trading spaces as a public health issue. Siphiwe Nkomo a Market Bailiff revealed that at the time when she was doing her visit at the Highlanders Market, the surrounding environment was clean as well as the toilets. Simiselo Ncube echoed the same sentiments as she observed that the 6th Avenue Market is now cleaner than before. The Market Aggregation Project supported by the Zimbabwe Building Resilience Fund (ZBRF) has given Bailiffs space to capacitate other vendors on the new Bulawayo City Council (BCC) Bylaws. The Bylaws also call for good sanitary standards in market places to prevent the spread of diseases. They are also advising informal traders to use designated trading spaces in order to avoid confrontations with Municipal Police. Sharon Chiwa, a Market Bailiff said that, “A lot of them did not know anything about the Bylaws.” The market visits have been helpful to informal traders as they have managed to capacitate informal traders about the law and their rights. Informal Traders are advised to renew their vending licences since the vending business year has just commenced and for those who do not have licences, they are advised to apply for them. Bailiffs have been telling informal traders of the requirements when applying for the licences which comprise of two passport-size photos, fingerprints and a medical certificate of health for those who will be selling food. Bailiffs have also been telling informal traders about the revised licencing fees which most informal traders did not know of, with the Central Business District at $23 for licences and $11,50 for monthly rentals and in the residential suburbs licences being $11,50 and monthly rentals $5,75 United States dollars or Zimbabwean Dollars equivalent. Bailiffs have also gathered that informal traders are calling for the decentralisation of licencing from the Dugmoore Clinic to City Council offices in different wards. Informal traders highlighted that the centralisation of the licensing process makes the licensing process slow and makes them lose a lot of trading hours while they queue for consecutive days.

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BCC explains the license procedure

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Bulawayo City Council (BCC) is encouraging Bulawayo vendors and informal traders to apply for licenses to enable them to trade in proper designated areas.  BCC Public Relations Officer Nesisa Mpofu in a radio interview on SkysMetro FM, a program brought by the Sizimele Consortium funded by Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund (ZRBF) under the Market Aggregation  project, said that council has decentralized licensing in terms of resolution and policy, therefore vendors and informal traders can now apply for licenses at Dagmore offices  along  Basch Street. This comes after Market Bailiffs who monitor COVID-19 compliance in markets under the Market Aggregation project, found out that only vendors and traders with licenses are trading at designated vending bays. Vendors and traders were removed from the Central Business District (CBD) during the national lockdown period as a way of curbing the spread of COVID-19 pandemic and this process affected their operations, leaving them stranded. The majority of the informal traders’ businesses were affected. “People were removed from the CBD during lockdown and we are trying to create a conducive working environment in terms of COVID-19 protocols where people are now trading in certain areas”, said Mpofu. “The licensing process may currently be slow because we want to make sure that those who are licensed and were removed from their trading areas are the ones that get bays and those who are making new applications could be people who are facing challenges”, added Mpofu. “The application fee for a license is 150 RTGS for trading in the CBD and 75 RTGS outside the CBD. The license is valid for one year. Vendors are encouraged to complete a vending bay application form which is available on the city of Bulawayo website and council offices and send it to the city council email address (spedzi@citybyo.co.zw) or via WhatsApp (0772120637). After the application follows allocation and thereafter, one is called for an interview to be vetted by Zimbabwe Republic Police for record clearance and protection of the community. “Once you are given a license, you have to pay the monthly rental which is 100 RTGS in Central Business District (CBD) and 50 RTGS outside CBD”, continued  Mpofu.  “Informal trading looks at the disadvantaged members of the community and people who lost their jobs, unemployed, and physically challenged, widows and widowers and those who do not have a source of income qualify to have a vending license, this comes as a form of a social net” alluded Mpofu. The national lockdown that took effect in March 2020 affected the informal sector and vendors were relocated from the CBD to various trading sites in the townships, the relocation is meant to help curb the spread of the corona virus which has claimed thousands of people in the world.

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