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Freedom Mupanedemo Midlands Bureau
Pushcart vendors in Gweru have resorted to using supermarket trolleys to conduct their business as council intensifies its blitz on street vendors. Several vendors lost their wares and pushcarts as Gweru municipal police continues with its crackdown on them. A snap survey conducted by The Herald yesterday showed that most pushcart vendors were now using trolleys belonging to supermarket chains like OK even to sell their fruits and vegetables.

The supermarkets have since instructed their security not to allow customers to take the trolleys that were now becoming scarce, beyond the exit point. Vendors interviewed said they were being pushed by the need to survive and had to come up with new tactics to outsmart municipal police.

“We need to survive, I have been in this business of fruit vending for years, but the council confiscated my pushcart recently. What we are now doing is using these trolleys to try and do business,” said Mr Amos Gaba, a fruits vendor.

Another vendor, Mr Tendai Kanye, said he now uses a supermarket trolley to conduct his business.

“I lost my push cart to the council and I am now using a trolley to ferry my clients’ goods. It’s game on,” he said.

A supervisor with a leading chain supermarket said they have beefed up security at their exit points so that they monitor the movement of their trolleys.

“Its very tough, our trolleys have flooded the streets. Yesterday, we sent out a team to try and recover them. We have also told our guards to monitor our trolleys and quickly take them back as soon as the customer empties them,” said the supervisor, who chose not to be named.