MOSES Ferinando (23), a Mozambican national, tears across Marondera central business district (CBD) with different types of shoes, mainly sneakers, hanging from his body.
With a broken venacular language that amuses those in the CBD, Ferinando is not deterred as he shouts looking for customers to buy his affordable shoes.
“I am here to sell my shoes, I entered Zimbabwe via Nyanga and will only return to Mozambique after all my wares are sold out,” he told NewsDay Weekender.
“It is not a matter that I am in Zimbabwe illegally, it is a matter of me satisfying this market. Zimbabweans love sneakers, hence we come here.”
Zimbabwe’s porous borders have become a conduit for this kind of invasion.
Hundreds of informal traders from Mozambique have been flooding Zimbabwe’s markets with an astonishing array of footwear.
From sleek sneakers to sturdy boots, the traders have brought a welcome injection of affordability and style to Zimbabwe’s shoe-starved consumers.
But beneath this move lies a complex web of porous border systems and economic survival.
“I bring along 80 pairs of shoes and all will be gone in three weeks. I get them from Beira and come with them here,” Ferinando revealed.
The Mozambican shoe traders are concentrated mainly in towns in the eastern part of the country like Nyamapanda, Mutoko, Murewa, Macheke and Headlands, among others.
“We cross into Zimbabwe, it is easy. Most of us are also well-versed with the Shona language, it makes our trading easy,” one of the shoe traders at Kotwa Growth Point said.
NewsDay Weekender recently travelled to Nyamapanda border post, where it was revealed that entering into Zimbabwe from the neighbouring Mozambique is as easy as cutting margarine with a hot knife.
“There is nothing amiss having an influx of Mozambicans in this part of the world. It is porous, from Rushinga to Mudzi, from Nyanga to Mutare,” said a police officer based in Nyamapanda.
The influx of Mozambican shoe traders in eastern cities and towns has left many local businesses competing in the same trade reeling from the effects.
With the traders selling their shoes from as little as US$5 per pair, local traders are feeling the heat.
They say their business is being impacted heavily.
Marondera Urban Business Forum director Emmanuel Danha called upon law enforcement agencies to deal with the scourge.
“We have businesses closing at an alarming rate due to uncontrolled trading,” Danha said.
“We are witnessing an influx of Mozambican traders, who are mobile in their businesses. They move around with shoes and other wares, selling at very cheap prices.
“This is affecting those who are legally in the same business, those paying taxes and levies. We call upon authorities to look into the matter urgently for the survival of local businesses.”
One of the biggest shoe and clothes shop in Marondera, Powersales, recently closed shop, with insiders blaming illegal traders for the closure.
“For example, in Marondera, Powersales closed shop. It is all because of illegal traders. Surely how can a business thrive when there traders at the very same shop’s verandah and selling same wares?” Danha asked.
But the traders are determined.
“It is easy selling shoes, especially sneakers in Zimbabwe. There is a ready market. The people here love quality, affordable shoes, hence our frequent trips here,” said Ferinando.
Due to an ailing economy, Zimbabweans have been relying on imported footwear.
According to statistics by ZimTrade, the trade promotion body, in 2023, Zimbabwe imported about 12,8 million pairs of shoes.
Mozambican traders are now common sight across cities and towns in eastern Zimbabwe, with some speaking in the Portuguese language, selling shoes on the streets without any documentation.
The Mozambican corridor has been the hub of providing bales of second hand clothes to Zimbabwe.
The sale of second-hand clothes is illegal in Zimbabwe.
However, the goods find themselves on the streets through illegitimate channels, with law enforcement agencies failing to block the influx of such wear.
Police in Mashonaland East province said they were investigating the issue of Mozambican nationals who have besieged Zimbabwean eastern towns.
Recently, Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution minister Moses Mugadza said government is mulling to deploy drones along the borders to deal with porosity.
“We have seen it necessary to tour our border line, stretching from Nyanga to Chipinge. We share the border with Mozambique, a country which has the sea line, while we are landlocked, and government is keen to see the gross domestic product of Manicaland rising by enforcing border control and prevent the smuggling of good in and out of the country.
“Issues of trade cannot be divorced from border posts,” said Mugadza.
For now, Ferinando enjoys his ever ready market in the farming town of Marondera, illegal as he is.