THE BULAWAYO Vendors and Traders Association (BVTA) has appealed to the city authorities to declare last week’s Mutize flea market fire incident a city disaster.
The appeal comes after property worth an estimated US$500 000 was destroyed by fire at the flea market.
In a statement, BVTA said authorities should declare the incident a city disaster so as to attract well-wishers to assist the affected informal traders.
“We urge authorities to declare this incident a city disaster and urgently activate all systems to assist informal traders affected by the incident and we also invite well-wishers to come on board and assist informal traders in any form possible,” the association said.
It also called on informal traders to consider insuring their goods against such losses.
BVTA has partnered insurance service providers such as Champions Insurance to provide affordable insurance schemes which include access to medical, funeral, goods and vehicle cover.
“Organisations have tailored insurance packages for informal traders in partnership with insurance service providers such as Champions Insurance with packages as little as US$5 for a fire policy for stock, medical aid, hospital cash back and funeral cover for such and many other unfortunate occurrences,” said BVTA.
“Informal trading has become the backbone of our economy as about 70% of the country’s gross domestic product comes from the informal economy and it is the source of livelihood for many families.”
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The BVTA also called on property owners to regularly maintain their work places to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.
“We also strongly urge property owners to prioritise regular maintenance, insure premises and the authorities to regularly inspect places of work such as markets and ensure adherence to minimum safety standards,” the association said.
