Zanu PF Mashonaland Central Provincial Chairman and Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, Dr Kazembe Kazembe, has urged local authorities to protect vendors’ livelihoods by providing alternative trading spaces before undertaking relocations or evictions.
Addressing the party’s Provincial Executive Council (PEC) meeting, recently, Dr Kazembe said efforts to restore order, cleanliness and proper planning in urban areas should not undermine the livelihoods of people who depend on vending for survival.
“We value cleanliness so much, but the way the clean-up is being carried out is not right. First, provide a solution on new vending sites for the vendors then proceed to relocate them,” he said.
He called on councils across the province to exercise responsibility and compassion when dealing with vendors, emphasising the need for proper planning and engagement before relocating them from their operating spaces.
Dr Kazembe said local authorities should identify and make suitable alternative trading sites available before implementing any relocation programmes.
“Programme yehurumende ndeyekuti vanhu ngavaende kunotengesera pakanaka. But hatigoni kuti munhu ibva apa, hatigoni kubvisa munhu paari, oenda kupi. Ikozvino mvura yakuuya, ” he said.
The call highlights the need to balance urban management and development with economic empowerment and the protection of livelihoods, particularly among informal traders who play an important role in sustaining household incomes and supporting local economies.
He urged councils to engage affected vendors and ensure that relocation processes are orderly, humane and sustainable.
The position is in line with the broader development principle of leaving no one and no place behind, ensuring that efforts to modernise towns and cities remain inclusive and responsive to the needs of ordinary citizens.
