MORE than 800 informal traders operating along Lobengula Street in the city are set to be relocated to an unknown location as the Bulawayo City Council is yet to allocate a place for them to do their business.
MTHANDAZO NYONI OWN CORRESPONDENT
Informal traders operating along the populous street were given up to December to vacate the area to make way for South African civil engineering firm, Tearracota (Pvt) Ltd, to redevelop Egodini terminus into a regional public transport centre for local and regional transporters.
Council’s public relations officer Nesisa Mpofu told Southern Eye that the local authority had identified various sites to relocate the affected vendors, but would not disclose where these sites are located.
“The total number of stalls located at Egodini is 890 bays and the council will advise the vendors on the new vending sites,” she said.
Secretary-general of the Bulawayo Upcoming Traders, Dumisani Ncube, urged council to tackle the issue of relocation seriously before it is too late.
“Council should be clear about where and when traders would be relocated to,” he said.
“There is need to consult each other so that we can make prospective development. We need development, but not development with inconveniences.”
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The Bulawayo Progressive Residents’ Association’s Ambrose Sibindi said consultation should have been done from the time council reached a decision to convert the area into an upmarket commercial centre.
“We urge council to do that quickly. They should allow residents to assess the place first before traders move there,” Sibindi said.
The relocation was met with mixed feelings with some vendors condemning it as a plan by city council to further impoverish them.
