THE Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (Viset) has called on authorities to reduce vending licensing fees at the new Mbare Musika Market.According to the association, the reduction will bring sanity and order within the informal sector in the face of increasing clashes between vendors and local authorities.Various reports and investigations have shown that the newly-erected market is fast turning into a white elephant as most vendors resort to selling at undesignated places due to high costs.Reports indicate that licensing fees at the market include US$150 deposit on rent, a weekly rent of US$50, a US$1 fee for every visit to the toilet and a monthly parking fee of US$240 in addition to the taxes the vendors are obliged to pay.Viset executive director Samuel Wadzai said informal traders could not afford the proposed fees.“The money that is being charged is out of reach for many and I think we are seeing this as many are failing to take up those spaces,” he said. “Development of market spaces or infrastructure is one of the key components of formalisation of the informal sector and we were so happy when we saw the construction of that market, but it does not make sense for authorities to then charge a fee that is out of reach of many.”Wadzai said overcharging defeated the purpose of formalisation as vendors would continue violating the city’s by-laws.“The overwhelming recommendation that was presented to Harare City Council was that they need to revise those fees so that they are affordable to people who should be going to those spaces and ensure that when the fees are reduced, the allocation of the same becomes transparent,” he said. “We urge authorities to reduce the fees so that people can go and occupy those spaces, thereby becoming part and parcel of the formalisation that we are all calling for.“Chaos and disorder will continue to be the order of the day as long as they do not charge a fee that is affordable to many.”
