One person died in the skirmishes and 18 were arrested. Some stalls and wares were burnt in the chaos triggered by space barons.
When H-Metro visited the area yesterday, there were no
vendors on site.
“We thought by the weekend we would be allowed to trade,”
said a vendor, Christina Saizi.
“Authorities should bear with us, this is our source of
livelihood.”
Saizi said since some culprits, which orchestrated the
violence had been arrested, the place should now be opened for business under
police watch.
“The police should guard the place and allow us to resume
trading,” she said.
“It is easy to control people in such a place, unlike
outside the market.
“Also, there are sanitary facilities and access to water at
the market.”
City of Harare small-to-medium enterprises chairperson,
Denford Ngadziore, last week assured traders that the market would be opened
soon.
“We are working with those involved and we are in our final
preparatory stage to reopen Mupedzanhamo market by next week,” he said.
“There should also be depoliticisation of Mbare. There is
too much tension in Mbare and this calls for stakeholders’ engagement.
“People fighting in Mbare are all Zimbabweans, and we
understand they come from different political parties, so what we are trying to
do is to bring them together.”
The City of Harare said it aims to accommodate 3 500
traders at Chishawasha grounds before the end of the year. H Metro
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