Zimpapers Logo

Yoliswa Dube
AN unofficial vehicle — the pushcart, dubbed “the scania” by locals — has invaded city centres in the country causing mayhem on the streets. In Bulawayo, Harare, Kwekwe, Gweru or Kadoma, pushcart operators are constantly shuffling back and forth in the city’s central business district, obstructing traffic. Their vehicles which are not registered often carry various precious cargo belonging to clients.

The scanias carry goods ranging from fruits to travellers’ luggage and now bales of second hand clothes belonging to vendors who have since set up shop along most cities’ streets.

Some use the pushcarts as a form of transport when moving from one lodging to the other. The sight of a pushcart packed with a bed, wardrobe and other household goods has become common in most cities.

For one reason or the other, the pushcart operators seem to be always in a hurry as they go around their business. They are reckelss as they manoeuvre their way in between traffic. Accidents between motor vehicles and the scanias are now common.

Such accidents leave the motor vehicle driver with more problems than solutions on his hands while the pushcart operator can only utter a plethora of apologies.

In most instances, the pushcart operator is not knowledgeable of the rules of the road neither does he hold any formal documentation to help interpret road traffic regulations and rules.

The motorist is left with the problem of repairing his car while the pushcart operator walks scot-free on most occasions. Thamsanqa Sibanda who operates in Bulawayo’s CBD is a veteran pushcart operator who has been in the trade for close to 15 years.

He calls himself a careful driver although he at times gets involved in “minor accidents”. “I’m in town every morning as early as 6AM to start work. I operate exactly like a taxi. People approach me or I approach them and try selling my service as they walk down the roads,” said Sibanda as he offloaded a customer’s bags of manure from his scania.

The charges for hiring the scania depend on the distance to be covered and the weight of the luggage.

“Sometimes the money can be as little as R5 but if I’m fast enough and get many customers in a day, I can get a decent amount of money.

“You see, this is a game of time and chance. If I’m fast with my deliveries as well as being at the right place at the right time, business will be good for me. I hire the scania from the owner for $2 for a certain number of hours. Within that agreed time, I need to have made a profit,” said Sibanda.

By his own confession, Sibanda does not have any knowledge of road traffic safety signs and regulations. He says he always tries to be as careful as possible when on the city’s busy roads.

There is no telling how many kilometres per day pushcart operators have to walk in order to earn a decent living. “Mistakes happen all the time. As long as there’s no one hurt, I see no problem. I try as much as possible not to be a distraction to traffic but sometimes you’re racing against time it’s impossible to give way to every car that approaches you,” he said.

But Fanuel Tshuma, a city motorist, had no kind words to say about pushcart operators.

“These people are just there to cause commotion,” he charged, “They appear in front of oncoming traffic from nowhere and just want to move around town as they please,” said Tshuma.

He wants authorities to ban pushcart operators whom he accused of causing accidents.

“I honestly don’t think there’s a way of regulating scanias. We need to do away with them completely. I know these will be jobs lost but we seriously need to consider our safety as well. A scania operator will compete with you, it’s unbelievable.

“They just park wherever they want and you really can’t do anything about it. You let them, but there’s always a chance that they’ll bump into you and the problem of fixing the car becomes yours,” said Tshuma.

Pushcart operators cause commotion on the roads and when motorists complain they get agitated.

Often, they argue that they have as much right as motorists to use the roads forgetting that their vehicles are not licensed or insured.

There are some who argue that pushcart operators have work to do and should be given space to operate. Their children need to be fed and taken to school.

“They’ve every reason to wake up every morning and head to the streets to earn a couple of dollars. These are family people and they should be allowed to work for their children,” said Benson Ndlovu, a shop assistant in the city.

Pushcart operators often report to a “warlord” who governs the scanias and sets the pace at which the operator moves.

The owners have a fleet with each cart bearing a number which becomes the operator’s identity.

“My job is to supply scanias to those who need them. I’m not responsible for what happens once they leave my courtyard. I simply give terms of payment and expect the scania operator to deliver,” said an owner of scanias who spoke on condition of anonymity.

He said he has a fleet of scanias which people hire for the day or on a monthly basis.

“I can’t tell you how much I charge but we reach an agreement and draw up terms of payment. It’s good business considering the number of people using these scanias these days,” he said.

Some pushcart operators simply park their carts at strategic points along the streets as they sell their wares that include fruits and vegetables.

The carts operated by vendors have been considered by many as harmless as they do not cause congestion on the pavements and roads.

Bulawayo City Council senior public relations officer, Nesisa Mpofu, says pushcarts are supposed to park or operate along designated routes and points.

She says they are treated like cycles.

Mpofu said the pushcarts are regulated by the city by-laws and those that violate the laws are fined $10.

She said pushcarts are allowed to park at road intersections where there are triangular yellow demarcations usually marked “Cycles”.

“Pushcarts are treated the same way as bicycles. They are supposed to be pushed in a single file and use cycle tracks where there are cycle tracks,” said Mpofu.