{"id":99420,"date":"2024-10-10T11:33:06","date_gmt":"2024-10-10T09:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/upgrade-informal-market-structures-govt-urged"},"modified":"2024-10-10T13:36:10","modified_gmt":"2024-10-10T11:36:10","slug":"upgrade-informal-market-structures-govt-urged","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/upgrade-informal-market-structures-govt-urged","title":{"rendered":"Upgrade informal market structures, govt urged"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. <\/strong><\/span>GOVERNMENT and local authorities across the country have been petitioned to upgrade informal market structures to ensure that vendors are protected from potential losses arising from fire outbreaks that have become a common occurrence at the old buildings and structures.<\/p>\n

This follows a fire outbreak at Mbare Musika, which destroyed several buildings and market stalls on Tuesday night, with property worth hundreds of thousands of United States dollars is believed to have been destroyed in the inferno. City of Harare spokesperson Stanley Gama said authorities were still assessing the extent of the damage as the fire fighters were still on the ground<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will take the best part of the day to clear the small pockets of fire left. The cause of the fire is still being investigated and they are gathering information from the people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Gama said there was need to upgrade the markets as they are prone to such incidents.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt Glen View home industries, we have put in place various fire preventive measures and that is what needed for such markets as Mbare Musika. It needs to be rebuilt, modernised and strict fire preventive measures put in place,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

However, the Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (Viset) said initial reports indicated that the fire was caused by candles left unattended, as the area was under load-shedding at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fire left a trail of destruction in its wake, as informal traders’ market stalls went up in flames, with some risking life and limb battling to recover their wares left overnight in storage. The fire is said to have spread to nearby dwellings, rendering many homeless and our thoughts are with them,\u201d Viset said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo the uninitiated, the Mbare Musika area is the mecca of many farmers who come and dispose their produce every day at wholesale prices. It is also a major transit point where people board long-distance buses to all corners of the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven the high levels of informality in the country, it is no exaggeration that any disruption at this major cash trading point will have severe consequences for all in the informal economy ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Viset said the government should take action to ensure that proper modern market structures are erected in Mbare and other fire-prone areas like the furniture market in Glen View Area 8.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are aware that many politically exposed persons from the main parties would want to see the situation continue as it has been for their own corrupt reasons, but we believe the time to act is now before another catastrophe befalls these areas,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt remains our hope that the formalisation strategy initiated by government, in which we as an organisation have played a pivotal role, will finally be adopted and implemented, as we believe this would be the ideal vehicle through which we can address the dire need for affordable, safe, and modern markets.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to witnesses, this was not the first time a fire had broke out at Mbare Musika, although the previous inferno was extinguished before it could spread far.<\/p>\n

A witness who preferred anonymity said the previous incident was caused by cigarette smokers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have been incidences of carelessness before. I recall a similar incident in 2005, but fortunately, the fire was extinguished quickly before it spread,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Tonderai Gumiro, a vendor, recounted the Tuesday night chaos, saying they were barred by security personnel from salvaging their goods, potentially due to theft concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could have saved our belongings if we were allowed to enter, but security would not let us in. To make matters worse, there are people who managed to jump in and steal some goods as the fire licked at and consumed everything in its path,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Many vendors bemoaned that they had lost their life savings.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor 20 years, I have relied on daily sales to survive. It\u2019s a hand to mouth existence. You sell, you eat. You don\u2019t sell, you go hungry,\u201d said Cecelia Getsi, one of the affected vendors.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fire has destroyed our livelihoods. I\u2019m worried about my family\u2019s next meal.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Zimbabwe Follow Africa-Press<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. GOVERNMENT and local authorities across the country have been petitioned to upgrade informal market structures to ensure that vendors are protected from potential losses arising from fire outbreaks that have become a common occurrence at the old buildings and structures. This follows a fire outbreak at Mbare Musika, which destroyed several buildings […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":99419,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[19],"class_list":{"0":"post-99420","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-community","9":"tag-zimbabwe"},"yoast_head":"\nUpgrade informal market structures, govt urged - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"GOVERNMENT and local authorities across the country have been petitioned to upgrade informal market structures to ensure ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/upgrade-informal-market-structures-govt-urged\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Upgrade informal market structures, govt urged\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"GOVERNMENT and local authorities across the country have been petitioned to upgrade informal market structures to ensure ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/upgrade-informal-market-structures-govt-urged\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"zimbabwe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-10-10T09:33:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-10T11:36:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2024\/10\/sm_1728547521.379296.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"581\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/upgrade-informal-market-structures-govt-urged\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/upgrade-informal-market-structures-govt-urged\",\"name\":\"Upgrade informal market structures, govt urged - 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