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Flea market traders face bleak future
Grace Kombora, The Zimbabwe Independent
May 27, 2005

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/news/2005/May/Thursday26/2412.html

STANDING with his arms folded across his chest Lovemore Motsi shakes his head in disbelief at the closed Union Avenue flea market, hopelessness written on every line of his face and visibly shaken by what had happened to him.

Motsi (24) wonders what the future holds for him as his flea market business had been demolished in the campaign codenamed "Operation Restore Order".

Holding the remaining cellphone charger for sale, he struggles to come to terms with what happened to him.

"This was my source of livelihood . . . now they are destroying where we used to sell our goods. Where do they want us to go?" Motsi said after gathering himself.

Being the only breadwinner in his family, Motsi wonders how his family would survive with his sole source of livehood gone.

"Mabasa hakuna and tiri kuedza kuzvibatsira saka vanoda kuti tiitei kana vachipwanya patinotengesera (There are no jobs, so what do they want us to do if they are destroying our stalls)?" he added.

Motsi said the irony of "Operation Restore Order" was that it would lead to prostitution and thieving as most people now do not have sources of income but will find the easiest sources.

"The city will be flooded with prostitutes and thieves because people have no jobs but need money," he said.

Motsi said it was going to take a long time for him to find another place to sell his wares and to cope with the situation.

Since his business has been shattered, Motsi continues to come and sit outside Union Avenue flea market expecting a change of heart from the city council.

"I expect that something might be done, maybe they might give us somewhere else to operate. If they want to give these areas to the Chinese they should have allocated us somewhere else rather than chasing us away like rats," he said.

Motsi attributed the crackdown to pressure from newly arrived Chinese businessmen to stop secondhand dealers undercutting their cheap imports.

Leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change Morgan Tsvangirai was quoted in the press saying the country has been "mortgaged to the Chinese".

"How can we violently remove Zimbabweans from our flea markets to make

way for the Chinese?" he said. "The majority of Zimbabweans depend on informal trade to feed, clothe and educate their families."

Under President Robert Mugabe’s "Look East" policy, the country has acquired aircraft and jet fighters from Beijing, rejecting calls to restore links with the International Monetary Fund and World Bank severed in 1998 over chronic budget indiscipline.

"How can they try to please foreigners at our expense?" Motsi said.

Motsi condemned the city council and police for not giving notice to the flea market dealers, which he said showed the insensitivity of the government.

Cash and many valuable goods are said to have been lost in the process.

Motsi, fuming with anger, blamed the police for dealing with the wrong people.

"As the operation is aiming at bringing sanity to Harare, touts, pavement vendors and street kids should have been the victims not us because we operate under legal buildings," Motsi said.

Motsi blamed the government for condemning flea market operators as foreign currency dealers.

"Flea market operators are not foreign currency dealers but we aim at raising money for a living through selling goods," he said.

Flea markets are alleged to be a safe haven for parallel market traders in foreign currency and fuel.

Presenting his monetary policy review, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono warned of measures to curb hoarding of goods.

"Those inclined towards consumptive shopping trips are among the largest culprits in exerting parallel market pressure, and their operations must be curbed by every means possible under the new drive to instill discipline in our markets," Gono said.

Gono said illegal operators were not paying taxes but were big players in the game of externalising foreign currency bought at whatever price.

Flea market operators are accused of hoarding basic goods and selling them at exorbitant prices.

Mike Davies, the chairperson of the Combined Harare Residents Association, said the destruction of flea markets was illegal and showed how heavy-handed the regime was in dealing with Zimbabweans.

Davies accused the Sekesai Makwavarara-led commission of insensitivity in dealing with ratepayers.

"The city council should have engaged in a dialogue to show their concern with citizens because there is no future without dialogue," Davies said.

Davies warned of possible violence.

"This heavy-handedness is a sign of a ruthless regime," he said. "A legitimate government should act like government not a gang of thugs."

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) condemned the ongoing operation saying it was illegal and in violation of property rights.

"These acts by the ZRP and municipal police are clearly and manifestly illegal as they had no lawful order to evict mostly licensed flea market operators and tuck shop owners," the ZLHR said.

The ZLHR said despite the fact that flea market operators were paying rentals to the Harare City Council they were evicted.

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