Bulawayo Chamber Of SMEs Commends Council's Move To Remove Street Vendors
The Bulawayo Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) has commended the City of Bulawayo for giving an ultimatum to illegal vendors to vacate the streets, saying trading is a way to make a living but it needs to be done in an orderly manner.
This comes after the Bulawayo Town Clerk issued a statement advising illegal informal traders to move to designated sites no later than Friday, 9 February 2024.
Dube warned that “the full force of the law will be implemented against those who continue to breach the relevant bylaws both immediately, after the deadline and going forward .”
As reported by the Chronicle, Bulawayo Chamber of SMEs coordinator Nketa Mangoye Dlamini said the Urban Councils Act mandate the council to govern all economic and social activities in the city including CBD, residential areas, all economic zones and other activities. Said Dlamini:
The ultimatum to say let’s restore order is important as it follows the law. If you look around, what’s happening now in Bulawayo, there is chaos, we want SMEs to prosper and we want development in the country and we want SMEs to start up and grow but all these things have to be done in a well-planned orderly manner.
When you look at the streets that are currently occupied by illegal vendors, both pedestrians and vehicles can hardly move because streets and pavements are jammed.
He expressed concern over the lack of ablution facilities, which becomes a health threat with the growing concern about the cholera outbreak. Added Dlamini:
There is a need to restore order and sanity in the city, Bulawayo is no longer as clean as it was, we cannot have a situation where everyone does as he or she pleases but when things turn bad fingers are pointed at the city council, that is not proper.
Bulawayo Chamber of SMEs promotes the formalisation of businesses. We encourage them to formalise and we train them and encourage them to follow business ethics and to occupy spaces as given by authorities.
Meanwhile, the City of Bulawayo has advised residents that the transporting of commuters from Egodini shall begin on Monday 5th February 2024.
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