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Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief
GWERU City Council is set to relocate vendors operating from undesignated areas in the central business district to a site in the industrial areas.

Town Clerk, Ms Elizabeth Gwatipedza said vendors and commuter omnibus operators conducting their businesses at undesignated areas have become a menace in the city.

She said a vending site has been developed for vendors and they would be relocated there in due course.

Ms Gwatipedza said some vendors were now selling farm produce and clothing outside shops and banks.

The town clerk said retailers who pay substantial amounts in rates and water services to council were complaining that illegal vendors were taking away their customers and causing congestion on pavements.

“We have put sheds there to protect the vendors and their products from weather conditions. What is left is for the construction of a toilet for them to use.

“Once that is done we are moving them and that is very soon,” she said.

Ms Gwatipedza said kombis operating from undesignated areas were promoting lawlessness as those that are registered are now abandoning their official termini.

She said they have launched an operation to bring sanity back into the transport sector.

“We need to bring normalcy to this town. We are expecting operators of commuter omnibus to be in designated ranks at all times and not this situation we are experiencing,” she said.

Last year, council moved to plug revenue leakages through unregistered vendors by introducing vending badges for all hawkers trading in the city.

The introduction of the badges came at a time when councillors expressed concern  over loss of potential revenue as vendors using council stalls could not be easily identified.— @pchitumba1