As the majority of Zimbabweans turn to vending to make a living, in Bulawayo the fight for vending space in the central business district is palpable.
Hundreds of informal traders have taken over street pavements, selling clothes and farm produce including groceries outside retail and clothing shops.
On several occasions, the local authority is seen in running battles with the vendors, some of which have turned violent.
However, behind the running battles is an intense battle for vending space between local informal traders and those from Harare that travel overnight every day to the country’s second city.
“I stay in Kuwadzana, but I spend the rest of my days in Bulawayo selling clothing items, mostly jeans, and men’s shoes,” said Tracy Mutinhiri in an interview.
Mutinhiri said she travels on evening buses to Bulawayo with her colleagues who are into informal trade.
The evening buses charge at least US$15, but the fares can be negotiated to as low as US$12.
The last bus leaves Harare at around 2230hours, arriving in Bulawayo just before 0430hours, giving Mutinhiri and her colleagues ample time to identify busy street pavements before local vendors arrive.
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Mutinhiri’s colleague Lovemore Mujiri from Glen View 7 in Harare says he sells fresh farm produce in Bulawayo.
“As soon as my products are finished, mostly before 10am, I hitch hike back to Harare to restock and prepare for my evening journey,” Mujiri said.
However, local informal traders, legal and illegal, are not amused.
Loveness Nkomo, who operates along 5th Avenue, said she had seen her profits dwindling over the past few months as a result of the flood of the Harare vendors.
"My business is collapsing,” Nkomo said.
“I am concerned that our space is now being dominated by outsiders who most of them do not even speak the local language.”
The influx of traders does not only pose a threat to local vendors' businesses but even top conventional businesses, investigations revealed.
Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association chairperson, Ambrose Sibindi expressed fears that locals were being crowded out of their trading spaces by outsiders.
“There is a serious invasion of the city by vendors from outside Bulawayo especially in the evenings,” Sibindi said.
“These people come from as far as outside Harare and Masvingo among other places to trade here during the day and night.”
Sibindi accused the vendors from outside the city of street littering.
“As residents, we are made to pay for the litter and dumping that is done by the people who are not from Bulawayo,” he said.
"Also, what these people are selling is hazardous to the public health because they sleep in the streets, relieve themselves in the streets and not wash their hands and with this behaviour cholera outbreak chances are high.
“As residents we are concerned about that. It is getting out of hand and cannot be allowed to continue because it’s a serious hazard."
Bulawayo Vendors and Traders Association director Micheal Ndiweni said they had raised concerns with the local authority.
“Council has to do something about the problem. Some of them sleep in the marketplace where there are no toilets," Ndiweni said.
"If there is a system that ensures that there is a bit of accountability in terms of doing business at night, there has to be control and accountability for trading at night."
He added: “These people have got nothing to lose, so as residents, we cannot ignore that.”
Bulawayo mayor David Coltart recently led a clean-up campaign in the city, expressing concerns over littering by illegal vendors.
However, almost two months after he came in, the vendors have remained in the city and their numbers have even swollen.
Coltart was unreachable for comment on Friday.
