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Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau
THE reopening of Kudzanayi Long Distance Bus Terminus was commended as a money-making venture for both vendors and the contractor.

However, two months down the line, vendors are saying only the contractor is making a killing from them. There are also voices of disgruntlement as not all who had applied managed to get vending bays.

Bentach Resources was given 15 years to renovate, operate and then transfer the long-distance bus terminus to Gweru City Council.

When it was reopened, the bus terminus attracted attention from various parts of the country, with a delegation from Manicaland Province led by the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution-Manicaland, Nokuthula Matsikenyeri, embarking on a look and learn visit.

The project was successfully implemented after the Government directed local authorities to take advantage of the national lockdown to renovate markets and the bus terminus.The bus terminus has over 400 vending stalls with vendors relying more on travellers as their customers.

So, the more the buses passing through the rank, the more the passengers and potential income for the vendors. But movement is still restricted as the country is still under level two Covid-19 induced lock down. However, Bentach Resources has announced an increase in vending rentals, triggering an outcry from vendors.

“Please note that the bay fees will increase as of November 1, 2021,” Bentach management said in a notice. “The new rentals shall be as follows: perishables $400 per day, merchandise $480 per day and hardware $800 per day.”

With the country still under level two Covid-19 induced lockdown, there isn’t much business that is being brought into the long-distance bus terminus to complement the high rentals the vendors are being made to pay.

When it was opened, Gweru City Council, the owners of the rank said they had reached an agreement where any increase in charges would be discussed first with Bentach Resources before anything is effected — a process the local authority says wasn’t done. Zimbabwe Chamber for Small-to-Medium Enterprises Gweru chapter chairperson Mr Tafadzwa Mazorodze condemned the hike saying it is a burden to already suffering informal traders.

“I don’t think the increase is justified at the moment considering that the country is still reeling under the negative effects of Covid-19 induced lockdown. Honestly, who would be able to raise such an amount when one is selling vegetables or even hardware? I think it would have been proper if the contractors had waited until such a time when the economy recovered and more money was in circulation before effecting the new rentals,” he said.

He said many vendors will be forced to abandon the stalls before engaging in illegal vending at shop pavements and from their vehicles at undesignated points. “Right now, illegal vendors are everywhere in town and there is not much business at Kudzanayi bus terminus because of the effects of Covid-19 pandemic.

We are going to witness a surge in illegal vendors across the town,” said Mr Mazorodze. Mrs Marian Shumba, a vegetable vendor said Bentach Resources is expecting her to fork out over RTGS12 000 per month — a figure she said was beyond her means.

She said she has other obligations like rentals and food for her four children. “When council engaged this company, we were told that they had the poor at heart. It seems they were to chase us away and bring in outsiders. Remember we had to fight hard to be allocated these vending stalls, they wanted to give mostly Harare people whom they said had money.

So I think Kudzanayi is no longer a viable place for us the struggling vendors and we need assistance as a matter of urgency,” she said.A vendor who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of victimization said they understand that the contractor has to make money but the increase was just too soon.

“We opened recently and the country is still under lockdown meaning there is less business for us. Yes, Bentach wants to recover its money after refurbishing the place, but is there any move to promote the SME sector for it to grow? We hope they will reason with us so that we also survive,” said the vendor.

Mayor Councillor Josiah Makombe said council had set up a committee made up of councillors to engage Bentach Resources over the increase.

He said council had received a lot of objections from vendors who felt the increase was unjustified and was coming too early after the rank was re-opened.“As GCC, I can confirm that we have received a lot of objections from the vendors and other organisations that look after the needs of these small to medium enterprises. We have since put in place a committee of councillors who are supposed to go and negotiate with the contractor in the hope that the new proposed increase is not effected,” said Clr Makombe.

He said when a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the local authority and Bentach, part of the agreement was that the bus terminus would be pro-poor and any increases in rentals would be discussed between the two parties.“It seems they just decided to increase the vending space without consulting us and we hope we reach a positive agreement for a win-win situation between the company and the vendors,” said Clr Makombe.

Bentach Resources project manager David Kudakwashe could not be reached for comment yesterday.A representative of Bentach Resources on condition of anonymity yesterday said the increase was necessitated by the prevailing economic environment.

“This has been necessitated by an increase in Bentach pricing index that takes into account micro-economic factors,” the official said.