Zimbabwean Street Vendors Vow to Defy Harare Eviction Order
Street vendors in Harare have vowed to defy a government order to leave illegal trading sites. They said informal trading was their only means of survival in the current economic climate and amid high unemployment.
As the September 9 deadline approaches, the government is preparing to launch a zero-tolerance operation against illegal vending in the capital before extending it nationwide.
Vendors and civil society groups have warned that removing traders without providing adequate alternative spaces could deepen poverty and leave thousands of people without an income.
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Over 20,000 children have been forced to turn to illegal vending to supplement family incomes as Zimbabwe’s economic situation continues to worsen, according to an assessment carried out by the Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation, which noted the current harsh economic situation had not spared children. Poverty has reached unprecedented levels, with more than 70% of Zimbabwean children in rural areas living in poverty, a UN study has found, warning that if nothing is done
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![Vendors in Zimbabwe (file photo).]()
Zimbabwean authorities have issued a banning order against vendors across the capital, Harare, following a deadly cholera outbreak that has claimed more than 30 lives. The has led to many fearing a repeat of the outbreak that killed thousands in 2008.
(file photo).
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