Egodini traders reject two weeks’ notice

THE Bulawayo Upcoming Traders Association (Buta) has petitioned the city council to extend its two weeks’ notice for traders to vacate the Egodini terminus to three months, arguing the notice was too short.

The city council had written to the vendors notifying them that they should have vacated the area by 1 March. Speaking at a report back meeting with vendors on Friday at Lobengula Mall in the city, Buta secretary general Mr Dumisani Ncube said they have written a letter to the council expressing their concerns. He said council has to first ensure that the new place which they have been given is secure.

“As vendors and SMEs we feel that the notice is limited. The by-laws state that, just like any other stakeholder we should be given a three months’ notice. Vendors should be given time to inform their customers of this change and also prepare themselves for this new development,” he said.

“More so, we have to go and inspect the site they have allocated to us to see to it that everything is in order, because we don’t want our vendors to be just thrown to a place where there is poor sanitation and all. We are also going to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the developer and the city council, to make sure that all of our 1 100 vendors are accommodated when the construction is done.”

Mr Ncube also added that Egodini contractors must ensure that the bulk of the people who will be employed for the project are locals.

Meanwhile, the association has secured loans for vendors to boost their businesses. The first batch of registered vendors received their loans after the meeting, while the second batch will be given at a later date.

“We have struck a deal with Met Bank and the first group of vendors has received their loans. Vendors are receiving the loans in groups of threes and the minimum amount they are given is $500. They will be paying in instalments over a period of three months,” said Mr Ncube.