BULAWAYO Vendors and Traders Association (BVTA) says the Nkulumane market will ensure product diversity and complementary service, while providing a one-stop shop for informal traders and consumers.
The market is being constructed in Nkulumane high-density suburb where producers will be able to rent stalls to sell their produce.
The project is being spearheaded by the Local Government and Public Works ministry under the Building Urban Resilience in Zimbabwe through creating Safe Markets and Green Solutions programme.
In a statement, BVTA executive director Michael Ndiweni said the sustainability of the Nkulumane market was qualified by the inclusiveness in consultations from traders, producers, service providers and government.
“The aim is to decongest the city centre which is usually flooded by fruit and vegetable producers on a daily basis. This programme seeks to feed into the Bulawayo City Council decongesting strategy through complementing the strategy by bringing goods and services closer to the people and their communities,” he said.
Project co-ordinator Shadreck Zhou said different projects were being implemented depending on the needs of the city with Bulawayo having adopted the decentralisation of its fruit and vegetable markets.
“At the moment, Fifth Avenue is heavily congested with illegal vendors and the council is struggling to remove them. We have been partnering Bulawayo in a number of projects including water, cash voucher systems and COVID-19 response.
“We thought we could come in and help in the market decentralisation process to decongest the Fifth Avenue market."
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The market was identified following consultations with stakeholders that include traders, the local authority and residents’ associations.
“The centrality of the location is important for the purposes of decongesting the city and you also need a place that is accessible from all places,” he said.
