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THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has pronounced the relocation of all vendors operating along 5th Avenue to designated places with immediate effect and banned pushcarts from the central business district in line with the recent Government directive to restore sanity and clearing city centres of illegal informal trading activity.

The decision follows widespread concerns over rampant illegal vending operations in towns and cities including night vending and pushcarts, which have been blamed for frustrating formal business operations, harbouring criminality, indiscriminate littering and violations of public health and safety regulations. 

In a statement yesterday, Bulawayo Town Clerk, Mr Christopher Dube, said all traders operating along 5th Avenue will be relocated to the Bhaktas 2 Site, located along Lobengula Street and 2nd Avenue.

“Priority will be given to the first 600 trading bays at Bhaktas for those traders who were operating legally at 5th Avenue,” he said. 

“The additional 460 bays will be allocated to traders who had previously been assigned bays at Bhaktas and have fulfilled all licensing and rental obligations.”

Council has since advised all vendors operating along 5th Avenue to visit the City of Bulawayo Vending Offices at the former Dugmore Clinic Offices along Basch Street and 6th Avenue today, where compliant traders will be assisted to identify designated  bay numbers at the new Bhaktas site.

“We urge all affected traders to co-operate with the authorities during this transition period to ensure a smooth relocation process. Your understanding and compliance with the council’s decision are greatly appreciated,” said Mr Dube.

“The City of Bulawayo further reminds residents that in accordance with the SI 220 of 2023 Section 7 item 5 that: ‘Push carts shall not be allowed in the part of the central business area bounded by 3rd Avenue, Lobengula Street, 12th Avenue and Robert Mugabe Way, any violation will attract a Level 1 fine plus impounding costs’.”

Last week, Local Government and Public Works Minister, Daniel Garwe, issued a 48-hour ultimatum for councils to address night vending and clear the streets of all illegal vending operations.

He said Government was concerned about the surge in unregulated informal trading in the country’s city centres, which has resulted in increased pedestrian traffic, widespread littering and disturbances to established businesses.

“We had already set in motion the process of relocating vendors to designated areas such as Bhakta’s and Egodini when the Government issued the ultimatum. 

“All registered vendors will be moved to the council-constructed available bays and this relocation process is nearing completion,” Deputy Mayor Councillor Edwin Ndlovu said.

Council has said it will collaborate with the police to ensure the measures are effectively put into place. Analysts, however, say the compliance gap remains wider as scores of vendors operate illegally and argue that designated spaces do not provide viable business.

Reacting to the council directive, Bulawayo Vendors and Traders Association (BVTA) executive director Mr Michael Ndiweni said moving vendors to Bhaktas is a welcome development saying they also support the efforts to decongest the city.

He called for enhanced awareness to ensure smooth compliance and restoration of order.

“Fifth Avenue has been a contested space over time now, and as an association, we have been calling for a lasting solution. What we proposed is how do we win and give people Fifth Avenue, but then have other people in other spaces,” said Mr Ndiweni.

“The proposed sites, like Bhaktas, are a welcome development as long as the city will put in place measures to increase activities that will then make people stay there and increase sales.”

He suggested collective stakeholder involvement to ensure the issue is solved once and for all.

As of yesterday afternoon, vendors were still operating as usual and professed ignorance over the council’s latest decision.

Ms Sheila Mpofu, a registered trader operating along 5th Avenue said: “Personally, this is news to me that we will be relocated to the Bhaktas 2 site, and what I know is that most of the stands at that site are already occupied”.

Some vendors vowed to resist the move saying relocation means them losing business and income for their families as more customers are at the city centre.

In one of the incidents witnessed by the news crew, council security teams were wresting with illegal traders at corner Fort Street and 6th Avenue extension, causing chaos as people watched.

Bulawayo has 3 416 vending bays in the CBD of which 3 279 are occupied and only 244 of those have the necessary licenses to operate legally, according to official data.

The highest concentration of unlicensed vendors is located at various sites throughout the city, with significant discrepancies in site allocations. The city has 16 vending sites in the CBD, with the site between Lobengula Street and Herbert Chitepo and 6th Avenue up to 8th Avenue, having the highest number of bays at 814.

The Highlanders site has 749 bays, with 720 allocated and 184 bays being licensed.

At Bhaktas (2nd Avenue and Lobengula Street), all 175 bays, despite being allocated, are not licensed with the local authority. The same goes with the site located at corner of 6th Avenue and Lobengula Street where out of the 337 bays available and allocated, none of them are legally licensed to operate.

At Hyper market, all the 30 vendors allocated are also not legally licensed to operate, while at 6th Avenue Extension, only three vendors out of the 118 that were allocated are licensed to operate at the site.

Only three out of 121 allocated bays are licensed to operate along Lobengula Street between 5th and 6th Avenue,

At the Flower Trading Site, which is located adjacent to the Large City Hall, of the 37 allocated bays, just eight are licensed to operate, while the Fruits and Vegetables site located at the corner of Robert Mugabe Way and 8th Avenue of the 96 bays available, 52 have been allocated and of those, just one bay is licensed to operate.