Zimpapers Logo

Yoliswa Dube
NEXT to a grimy and foul-smelling alley, displayed on a small stall made of cardboard and along a bustling pavement is an assortment of fresh meat for sale.

Chicken, beef, tripe, fish – a whole butchery on the street.

With no refrigeration in the sweltering heat and packed in small portions, a swarm of flies hovers over the merchandise.

Shepard Zimuto, a meat vendor at Egodini (Basch Street Terminus) uses a piece of cardboard to ward off flies from the meat but fights a losing battle. His wife, sitting on a stool next to him, also struggles with the flies.

He has neatly arranged the meat and constantly courts passersby to buy it.

Zimuto must push sales fast and beat the heat lest the meat goes bad. But he is also afraid he could be left with nothing if council police show up and confiscate his stock.

“Council police often come here and harass us. They take our wares without any negotiations neither do they check whether or not we have vending licences. They just take the meat and ask for a $20 fine,” said the dreadlocked Zimuto as he continued to ward flies off his fish.

Over the years, the number of people who have turned to the streets of Bulawayo and elsewhere in the country to sell wares for sustenance has grown rapidly.

The unemployment challenge and a fragile economic environment prevailing in Zimbabwe have forced many to find alternative ways of fending for their families other than formal employment.

Zimuto and many like him have since decided to take charge of their welfare by taking to the streets to sell meat for a profit.

“If you’re caught selling meat by Council police, you can get away with it for a $1 sometimes. I give the officer some money and he or she gives me back my meat,” he said.

When business is brisk, the father of five said he makes about $40. On a bad day, he said, $15 is all he takes home.

“I’ve displayed only $20 worth of fish which is equivalent to the $20 fine I’m expected to pay if I’m caught selling here. There is a woman who last week lost $70 as soon as she got here and her fish were still in a bucket. Another had $100 worth of meat confiscated last week as well. Sometimes we hide the meat in surrounding shops where we’ve made friends but that is still not very helpful,” said Zimuto.

Twenty-three dollars pays the bus fare to Binga where Zimuto and other fish vendors at Egodini buy the fish.

He has to be in possession of a valid vendors licence in order to be allowed to travel with the fish. The licence is valid for a month and costs $33.

The manner in which the meat is handled has however courted controversy particularly with regards to the issue of hygiene.

When council police swoop on these vendors, they sometimes run for dear life with the meat stuffed in their undergarments. Often, they hide it in the dingy alleys and retrieve it when the coast is clear.

The meat is not stored appropriately posing a risk of food poisoning and other health dangers to its consumers. Egodini is not the only selling point but meat vendors are also found on the streets of Makokoba and Lobengula West suburbs.

“The income I get from selling meat on the streets has over the years helped cater for my family’s needs. The income I get here doesn’t buy me a comfortable life but at least I get something. If they take away this meat, they’ve taken away my family’s livelihood,” said Zimuto.

He said he bought the fish fresh and dried them while still in Binga, before travelling back to Bulawayo.

Also selling meat at the crowded terminus was Florentine Ngwenya who guarded her meat with a watchful eye saying she no longer trusted people. “We’re always running away from council police. I used to hide my meat at the flea market close by but they no longer allow us to do that so l’ve no choice but to display all my meat,” said Ngwenya.

She said she bought the chickens she had on display from a local company which sold chickens in bulk. She buys 5kgs of chicken portions for $10,50 , sells two pieces for $1 and gets $15 from the 5kg, a profit of $4,50.

“I must get money for school fees and rentals from this meat. All we want is a designated place for us to do our business legally. Because I can’t get a job elsewhere, I’ve to rely on this to take care of my children. They should allow us to just sell our meat even if they ask us to pay $1 per day. At least we’d be able to go about our business without being afraid,” said Ngwenya.

The challenge to selling meat on the streets has been to ascertain whether or not it is safe for human consumption. Its source is not known but alleged to be from cattle rustlers and other illegal activities.

“Meat should just be sold in butcheries and not on the streets. It’s really disgusting how this meat is handled and you still find people buying it. It’s not well stored and no one really knows where the meat is kept after hours,” said Mlungisi Dube, a Bulawayo resident.

Vendors across the country are regularly raided by police for allegedly operating in non-designated areas and all manner of alleged offences. Their wares are seized during the raids and never returned.

Last year, First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe hit out at the police, telling them to stop harassing struggling vendors.

Cops, she added, must pay for goods like everyone else instead of organising raids in order to grab freebies when they run out of tomatoes at home.

Amai Mugabe said it was hard enough for vendors to try and put food on the table for their families in a difficult economy, adding the police must stop making their plight worse.

Bulawayo City Council senior public relations officer Nesisa Mpofu said the City of Bulawayo notes that meat vending is an illegal activity.

“This is an illegal activity which we’re attending to. It poses a risk to the health of the public. Any responsible resident who comes across this should report to the police,” she said.

Mpofu said those caught vending would be arrested and the products confiscated.

“This is done to protect the lives of the residents of Bulawayo against food poisoning and is mainly due to the fact that the source of the products is not known, inspected and approved for human consumption,” she said.