Chaos, litter and the accompanying stench welcomes one upon visiting Mupedzanhamo flea market and the surrounding areas in Mbare.
Thousands of traders, operating from Siyaso to Rufaro
Stadium, have not only made the area an eyesore but also turned it into a
health time bomb.
The vendors make use of every available ‘free’ space to
openly relieve themselves.
Chaos, litter and the accompanying stench welcomes one upon
visiting Mupedzanhamo flea market and the surrounding areas in Mbare.
The ground they presently occupy, which is slightly
adjacent to the flea market, has no supporting infrastructure, especially
ablution facilities.
The situation further gets out of hand when rains fall.
Traffic congestion created by vendors that are encroaching
into roads and their servitudes have also become common. Motorists struggle to
navigate the area.
Some of the cheeky vendors risk being run over as they
arrogantly find the roads and their servitudes convenient for business and a
‘rightful’ place to operate from.
After all, the more there is traffic chaos, the better the
chances for some of them, particularly those that sell foodstuffs and
beverages, to make a killing.
But the traffic chaos in this part of the city is
resultantly leading to congestion elsewhere, particularly in the downtown areas
situated close to Mbare.
Residents are calling for the reopening of the flea market
to curb the chaos surrounding the area.
“If the market is opened, it will swallow a huge chunk of
the vendors clearing the space outside.
“When inside, they will have access to toilets and will not
be scattered all over the road,” reckons Tariro Masawi, a motorist who
frequently uses the route.
Mupedzanhamo was closed at the height of Covid-19 to
control the spread of the novel disease.
The market is famous for vendors that sell second hand
clothes commonly referred to as mabhero. Another section of the market houses
some traditional medicine vendors.
“. . . we are going to open Mupedzanhamo for informal
traders’ market shortly,” Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and
Devolution responsible for Harare Metropolitan Province Engineer Oliver Chidawu
was quoted saying in January.
Government envisaged the local authority would capitalise
on the closure of the market to give it a major facelift but this has not
happened.
The place remains a sorry sight with no proper amenities.
The initial plan was that after renovations, Mupedzanhamo
would reopen while other vendors trading around the area would be housed
opposite Coca-Cola along Seke Road and others at Chishawasha Grounds as part of
the implementation of the smart cities concept in Harare Metropolitan Province.
However, indications are the market is already back in business
though taking a different form.
A fair share of the space has been dedicated to car wash
and parking businesses. Only a small portion is occupied by traders that
specialise in traditional paraphernalia.
Catering services are also being offered in the unpleasant
environment.
The city’s acting spokesperson Innocent Ruwende confirmed
the resumption of trading at the market, which has a maximum carrying capacity
of 1 800 traders.
“Mupedzanhamo was reopened last year but we are faced with
operational challenges. We have since approached the police for assistance with
a view to take over affairs from people who are illegally benefiting from the
place,” said Ruwende.
The market falls under the purview of the City of Harare.
“At the moment there are no structures put in place,” he
added.
Space barons are competing to take control of the market.
Mbare-born and bred Arthur Kofi is one of the several car
wash operators that have occupied the space in the past year or so.
He charges $5 for his services though the figure can be
negotiated downwards.
Kofi, who said he can deal with as much as 10 cars per day,
has no plans to abandon the new base soon.
“When they reopened the market, we seized the opportunity
and started our business. We roughly have 10 car wash businesses operating
here. However, we are not paying anything to council because there are control
squabbles that are currently taking place,” said Kofi.
The parking space has become convenient for some motorists
intending to conduct business in town due to low fees.
Ordinarily, one is charged US$1 or equivalent per hour in
town for parking space but the same figure covers the entire day at
Mupedzanhamo.
Some motorists from areas like Glen View, Glen Norah and
Budiriro are now opting to make use of the car park and get into town on foot
or kombis.
“It is difficult to get transport to and from work.
Therefore, I have made a decision that I will use my car to get here
(Mupedzanhamo), then proceed into town by foot since I cannot afford to pay
parking fees in the CBD,” said a Glen View-based motorist.
A vendor who identified himself as Baba Tanya has been in
the second hand clothes trade for close to two decades, operating at the flea
market.
“I moved to this ground after Mupedzanhamo was closed. I
have to keep my business running otherwise my family will starve,” he said.
His colleague, only identified as Chatora, is a space baron
and owns a number of stalls at the newly established but illegal trading site.
“I have different stalls available. The prices range from
US$10 to US$70 per day depending on the size, location and your type of
business. Renting from me will be an advantage because council will not
confiscate your stuff since my operations have been validated,” he tried to
convince this writer who was posing as a potential client.
Urban development and town planning officer Shingai Kawadza
notes the need for order.
“The administration and management of the market must be
handled by the council’s housing and community services department. However, of
late we have witnessed the management of the market in the hands of the
so-called space barons who are illegally collecting rentals from traders,” said
Kawadza.
He added that while it is imperative to ‘fully’ reopen the
market, the supporting infrastructure on the ground is not making it possible.
Not much, if anything, has been done by the local authority
to improve the place since it was closed.
“They must first make sure there is portable water and
functioning sewerage systems. Moreover, ablution facilities must be provided
with the expected traders and customers in mind.
“The available facilities are not adequate. The local
authority must do a detailed research of the market and come up with a design
that is sustainable.”
Also, some feel the huge shade structure at Mupedzanhamo is
now obsolete.
They suggest it be replaced with a contemporary design that
does not expose traders to harsh weather conditions.
Harare Residents Trust director Precious Shumba agrees that
the issue of space barons needs to be dealt with decisively.
“They (space barons) run the market by subletting places to
vendors who pay huge amounts of money in hard currency while they pay local
currency to council. Ultimately, it is the barons that are benefiting more,”
said Shumba.
The flea market, he said, was not designed to be a car
park, car wash or to accommodate catering businesses.
“There is need for relevant stakeholders to come together
and make a bold decision to stop these space barons that often abuse their
political connections. This is the only way we will see the supposed crisis at
Mupedzanhamo end. The closure of the market affected a lot of people,” said
Shumba.
Similarly, he also blamed the local authority for not
investing in the construction of more market places and refurbishing existing
ones.
“Attaining a world class city status requires a robust
infrastructure development thrust across the suburbs to ensure less movement by
the people into one area for market places. These are potential revenue sources
which should spur social and economic development for the capital city,” he
notes.
“If council commits, say 15 percent of their annual budget
towards upgrading market places and putting in place a solid electronic market
stalls allocation and ticketing system, the City of Harare will generate more
revenue than what they are currently doing.”
Shumba alleges that some council officials are reluctant to
bring order to the market because of personal gain.
“Those responsible for markets and law enforcement are
pocketing huge amounts of money through bribes from vendors perceived to be
operating in illegal places. The more chaos, the more money they make.” Sunday
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