Nothing to celebrate on International Street Vendors Day

MONDAY was International Street Vendors Day and we at the Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (Viset) joined informal traders across the world in celebrating this important day.

This year’s commemoration came against a backdrop of daily harassment that traders face from law enforcement agencies, in violation of constitutional provisions that guarantee the right to work.

Viset believes that the laws governing the informal sector are not fit for purpose and are in need of urgent review in order to give recognition to a sector that now accounts for over 83% of employment, over 60% of gross domestic product as well as for the majority of money supply in the economy.

Over the past month, traders operating at Mupedzanhamo in Mbare have had their marketplaces shutdown and are struggling to eke out a living. Those in Glen View have had their trading places destroyed by fire more than three times in a year, highlighting the need for the provision of decent working spaces.

Informal sector workers continue to be left out of government issued social security safety nets, despite the immense role they play in the economy, with at most times government seeking to tax the sector as was seen in the previous budget by Finance minister Mthuli Ncube when he initiated the presumptive tax for the sector.

Multinational corporations are, however, granted tax breaks and holidays among other incentives, all in the name of being “Zimbabe is open for business”.

It is our firm belief that there can be no middle income economy by 2030 for the nation without ensuring that the growth of the sector is put at the front and centre of the nation’s economic policies.

Viset