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Melissa Makoto Herald Reporter
Hundreds of traders were left stranded on Tuesday after Harare City Council closed Fourways Traders Mall along Kenneth Kaunda Avenue.

The mall accommodated over 500 informal traders despite it being the only establishment that had requisite infrastructure.

The mall, which has storage and ablution facilities that include showers, has the capacity to accommodate more than 1 000 vendors and had absorbed some of the vendors who had been removed from the streets.

In a letter sent to Fourways, Council’s Director of Works Engineer Zvenyika Chawatama said the company had failed to meet some conditions precedent to opening the flea market.

“Please note that the permit has conditions, which you needed to satisfy before opening the flea market to trading,” he said “One of such requirement is that you submit building plants for approval before construction of buildings to be used for flea market.”

Fourways Traders Mall spokesperson Isaac Muzofa said he did not understand why council ordered the closure.

“We are surprised by the letter the city council wrote to us because we have maintained our premises and tried our level best to keep them clean.”

One of the affected vendors said they were at a loss because they did not have anywhere to go.

“We thought this facility met the standard required by council because looking at it, our toilets are clean and we have running water, so we do not know what they really want from us,” she said

“More than 500 vendors now are jobless yet it is our only source of income. We do not know where to go because we are being chased from other places.”

Council has been calling on businesspeople with space in and around the Central Business District (CBD) to let it out to informal traders.