Zimpapers Logo

Raymond Jaravaza, [email protected]

In the heart of Bulawayo’s central business district, a different kind of marketplace awakens as the sun dips below the horizon and the city lights flicker to life.

This is a world that thrives in the shadows, far from the watchful eyes of the law enforcement agents. It’s a bustling network of traders, buyers, and opportunists, each playing their part in the city’s underground economy.

The markets of Bulawayo, teeming with life during the day, take on a different persona at night. By day, vendors sell their wares openly, offering everything from fresh produce to second-hand clothes.

However, as darkness falls, certain city corners transform as illegal trading flourishes under the cover of night. In alleys and pavements, makeshift stalls and pop-up shops are dotted all over.

A Chronicle news crew on Wednesday night caught up with Mr Tavonga Vungundu of Mahatshula suburb. By day, he sells second-hand clothes at a legal stall in the bustling Egodini market. Come nightfall, he ventures into the hidden market. Mr

Vungundu sells smuggled goods that are hard to come by through official channels. He sources his goods from South Africa, evading customs to bring the latest trends to his eager customers.

He sells cigarettes, alcohol, and electronic items, a dangerous trade that requires constant vigilance and connections with the city’s underworld.

Mr Vungundu operates from a pavement in front of a building that used to house an Edgars Stores branch. By his admission, his business of selling sneakers is an illegal enterprise that is conducted under the cover of darkness, away from the prying eyes of law enforcement agents.

Mr Vungundu said he starts business at 7pm daily and knocks off at midnight. The seasoned trader is one of the hundreds of illegal vendors who have invaded the city, selling goods ranging from clothes, vegetables, homemade floor polish, groceries, cooked food, eggs, and bread among others.

What sets vendors like Mr Vungundu apart from the regular vendors that operate during the day is that they work shorter hours.

The new crew established that some of the night vendors are gainfully employed and only venture into night trading after normal working hours.

The night vendors run a booming economy that strictly operates at night and is not governed by city by-laws or regulatory institutions such as the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) which collects taxes.

Night vending is an economy that flourishes after normal business hours when businesses such as banks, supermarkets, offices, and other retailers close.

The buyers are as diverse as the goods on offer. College students are looking for cheap electronics, businessmen seeking discounted luxuries, locals in need of affordable essentials, and hungry travellers waiting to board intercity buses operating in undesignated areas.

They come to these markets knowing the risks but driven by the lure of a good deal. The thrill of the hunt, the chance to barter and haggle, and the promise of a bargain draw them into this nocturnal bazaar.

“I buy the sneakers from Tanzania in bulk and sell them in the streets at night because that is the only time when we can operate without being involved in cat-and-mouse games with municipal police,” said Mr Vungundu.

“We could be running illegal businesses, but it is the only way we can survive. As a country, we should embrace the informal sector and find ways to allow people like night vendors to run their businesses and contribute to the growth of the economy.”

Mr Vungundu’s sneakers range from US$20 upwards and it’s a cash-only business. A stone’s throw away from his stall is a truck laden with cabbages and carrots.

The news crew observes late-night shoppers buying the farm produce ranging from US$1.

On a street corner next to an infamous illegal commuter omnibus rank along Sixth Avenue, a man who only identified himself as Tino sells bread.

“We buy the bread in bulk, say for example from a Baker’s Inn crew who drives a truck, using Ecocash or electronic transfers but in turn, we sell the bread strictly for US$1 cash,” he said.

“United States dollars are like gold in the streets, someone out there is always looking for forex in hard currency and they are willing to pay premium rates that beat ZiG (Zimbabwe Gold) bank rates.”

At an illegal bus terminus along Fort Street, the place is a hive of activity as vendors sell food on the pavements and use gas stoves to heat the relish before serving customers.

“Our customers are mostly passengers travelling to Harare and they support our business together with kombi drivers, touts and conductors. We use gas stoves to warm the relish before selling to a customer,” said one trader.

The irony of the illegal food vendors along Fort Street is that they operate right next to established food outlets.
For those that deal in groceries, goods on demand include cooking oil, polony, fruit juices, and baked beans among others.

Some of the products are either fake or expired.

On the transport front, vendors that do not own vehicles mobilise themselves into groups depending on where they stay and use one commuter omnibus to take them home. It’s an arrangement that is also benefiting some public transport operators.

The vendors are charged US$2 for a trip to the western suburbs.