Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Midlands Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Owen Ncube said that he was worried over the unending running battles between police and vendors.
Speaking during the first Midlands province clean-up campaign in 2024 at Mbizo vegetable market, Ncube said local authorities should come up with sound revenue collection strategies instead of engaging in running battles with vendors.
Ncube also castigated rogue municipal police and space barons who allegedly demanded bribes from vendors. He said (via New Ziana):
We fully support revenue collection by local authorities as it is the basis upon which service delivery is built.
However, local authorities should be innovative in creating revenue streams like developing proper vending sites and regularise them to collect revenue and avoid running battles with vendors.
The practice by some rogue municipal police and space barons who fleece vendors by demanding and
receiving bribes from desperate vendors should end as the full wrath of the law will be applied without fear or favour.
Ncube said the Government intends to make clean-up campaigns mandatory and the illegal disposal of waste to be a punishable offence.
He urged local authorities to ensure enforcement of waste management by-laws to curb illegal waste dumping.
Ncube said business centres should have waste pickers and infrastructure that promotes litter collection, separation and recycling.
The high rate of unemployment in Zimbabwe has pushed hundreds of thousands of people into vending, with most of the traders operating from undesignated places such as pavements.
For More News And Analysis About Zimbabwe Follow Africa-Press
