paint

Vendors and informal traders have breathed a sigh of relief after hundreds of hand sanitizers, face masks, hand washing water dispensers were distributed to various food markets in Bulawayo. Targeted areas included Cowdray Park, Entumbane, Nkulumane (Sekusile), Magwegwe (terminus area), Mzilikazi and Lobengula (around Konron Shopping Centre). The Sizimele Consortium is responding to challenges that have been created by the novel corona virus in food and agricultural markets, through empowering them with COVID-19 fighting materials that are being distributed under the Market Aggregation COVID-19 Vendors Response – Market Access project. Bulawayo Vendors and Traders Association (BVTA), a member of the Consortium is engaging in a series of urgent distribution of COVID-19 fighting materials to vendors and informal traders in food and agricultural market places drawn from 15 selected wards.     “We are happy with what Sizimele Consortium has done for us, we had one last five-litre sanitiser container left for the whole market, we did not know how we were going to source another one, we appreciate you for considering us”, said Christopher Charumbira, Entumbane Complex Secretary General. Vendors and Informal traders in these areas have expressed gratitude for the gesture by Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund (ZRBF)  funded Sizimele Consortium, as the initiative has eased the burden for them making their own contributions and sacrifices towards the purchasing of hand sanitizers, face masks and water dispensers for use in their food markets.   Last month, the Sizimele  Consortium also handed paint to Bulawayo City Council for re- marking of trading bays to ensure physical distancing. The local authority had indicated that it is resource constrained and as a result it had slowed progress on re-marking and re- allocating of expanded trading bays.