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Munyaradzi Musiiwa, Midlands Correspondent

GWERU City Council has started demolishing all vending stalls and illegal structures in the central business district and at Kudzanayi long-distance bus terminus.

All vendors are being relocated to an open space adjacent to Mtapa cemetery.

Yesterday, the local authority demolished all structures at Kudzanayi long distance bus terminus, Kombayi vegetable and grain market, TM local bus terminus and other undesignated vending areas.

In an interview after touring the cleared sites, Midlands Provincial Affairs Minister Larry Mavima said Government was impressed with the levels of compliance.

“We had a directive from central Government that all the towns and cities should clear all vending and flea markets in the CBDs. It was on a short notice but Gweru City Council managed to inform the vendors on time and gave them time to clear their wares. I am impressed. The idea is to have the vending markets clean so that we reduce the possible spread of Covid-19,” he said.

Gweru Mayor Councillor Josiah Makombe said vendors have been relocated to Mtapa where they are preparing a space close to the cemetery.

The local authority also intends to construct a new bus terminus at the site.

“All the vendors are being moved to Mtapa. The area that we have moved them to had been earmarked for the construction of a long-distance bus terminus. The set up in many towns and cities is that long distance bus terminuses are not in the CBD, so this is what we are also doing.

“We will also put up new and modern structures in town to accommodate a limited number of these small businesses but the majority will remain in Mtapa. Construction has already started and we are hoping that we will complete preparing the area next week.”

Cllr Makombe said part of the Kudzanayi terminus will be converted into a Zupco rank.

“We have areas such a TM bus terminus were there were vending and flea market stalls. That rank has been permanently closed and all the vendors and public transport operators who were there have been permanently removed.

At Kudzanayi long distance bus terminus we have also removed all vending and flea market stalls and transformed the area into the Zupco bus terminus. 

It used to be a Zupco bus terminus before and now we are handing the terminus back to the public transport operator because it has resumed its operations in local routes,” he said.