BULAWAYO Vendors and Traders Association (BVTA) will inspect new vending sites to establish if the city council was not paying lip service to their plight.
BVTA director Michael Ndiweni said: “We are yet to do inspections to ascertain if the sites
are ready.
“We are expecting a meeting with BCC (Bulawayo City Council) to agree on the dates of inspection. We obviously do our parallel inspections as soon as our members have permission
to move.”
Ndiweni, however, expressed dismay over failure by government to disburse funds to underprivileged members of the society during the lockdown. Government pledged a $600 million bailout payable over three months to
1 million beneficiaries, translating to $200 per month.
“We have lost hope that it will come. BCC has not done allocations, besides they asked associations to complete application forms,” Ndiweni said.In a statement yesterday, Bulawayo town clerk Christopher Dube said they were moving food markets to residential areas.
“BCC has decentralised food markets, bringing them closer to the consumers, reducing the
cost of doing business and ensuring the safety of children and women who have to endure waking up in the morning to access public transport,” Dube said.
“Council has identified the initial bulk delivery sites such as Sekusile Nkulumane Bus terminus, Emganwini Mupedzanhamo, New Magwegwe Market, Old Pumula Vegetable Market and Cowdray Park Bus terminus market.”
