vic falls

Traders’ action restores electricity in a Vic Falls market

Victoria Falls Tarven market informal traders have successfully lobbied the local authority to restore yearlong power crisis at their market place in Chinotimba, in the newly minted City of Victoria Falls. Power supply was disconnected by the country’s power utility – Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA),  after discovering that the Victoria Falls City Council had defaulted to service market electricity bills. “Victoria Falls City Council is liable to  pay the bill of electricity used at the Tarven Market, utilities such as electricity and water bills are included in our monthly rents so we blame the council for the power outages,’’ said Simiso  Moyo, Vice Secretary at Tarven market. “After reconnecting the electricity for us, the council told us to purchase a pre-paid electricity meter that costs US $114, the situation has now improved because the council  ended up buying the pre-paid meter for us, now we are responsible for purchasing electricity and load it into our pre-paid meter,’’ added Moyo. Moyo told the Vendors Voice that the council was taking long to solve the power outages, until the group took it upon itself to engage the local authority to resolve the matter.      The informal traders revealed that the city council was responsible for paying their electricity bills but they were shocked to discover that there was tempering of the meter that further complicated the issue but they continued lobbying until the problem was resolved. Traders have applauded Bulawayo Vendors and Traders Association (BVTA) for equipping them with advocacy skills that they used to address   the accumulated electricity debts. BVTA has been implementing the Vendors Accountability Laboratories and Voices Enhancement (VALVE) project, a project that sought to ensure that vendors and informal traders hold duty bearers and authorities accountable for service delivery issues. After the social accountability and advocacy trainings by BVTA, Victoria Falls informal traders were able to query local authorities. The power outages challenge started last year and this affected the traders as electricity is an essential part in the market, they use it for lighting and refrigerating foodstuffs which include vegetables, beverages and other things. The   power supply was reconnected after the city council paid the reconnection fee of 17000 RTGS.  

Traders’ action restores electricity in a Vic Falls market Read More »

Vic Falls Traders buoyant after accountability lab

Vendors in Victoria Falls say they gained confidence to stand up for themselves after attending a workshop conducted by Bulawayo Vendors and Traders Association (BVTA) under the theme “Social accountability laboratory” held at Breeze Fm. Approximately 20 people attended the meeting where the attendees were taught how to write project proposals in addition to lessons that had to do with enhancing vendors’ accountability and most importantly, the rights of vendors and possible courses of action that may be taken in light of those rights. Grace Shoko, one of the vendors who attended the (BVTA) meeting said that the vendors were empowered by lessons given in the meeting that culminated in them approaching the City Council with their grievances. “We face a lot of challenges here in Victoria Falls. The City Council is charging us a lot of money and this is hugely affecting our businesses which are also taking a hit from the COVID-19 pandemic. The City Council is short-changing us, effectively getting too much from us and yet not providing adequate services. We do not have bins at the market and toilets are not in good condition. “The workshop gave us courage to approach the City Council and bring our issues of poor service delivery to their attention. We also requested the Council to slash fees by at least 50% and they promised to come back to us with answers,” said Shoko. Shoko added that the vendors reasoned that if fees were reduced, every vendor would be able to pay and that would mean more revenue for the local authority. “If the City Council reduces the license fee, everyone will be able to pay therefore enabling the Council to receive good revenue on time. We should work together to develop our City rather than creating barriers for each other,” she said. Shoko expressed gratitude for BVTA exertions in equipping vendors with knowledge that has enabled them to stand up and be counted. She said more workshops are needed for the traders in Victoria Falls.

Vic Falls Traders buoyant after accountability lab Read More »