By Own Correspondent

VENDORS in Ruwa recently got their stalls demolished, leaving many cut off from their only source of livelihood.

For traders watching their livelihoods vanish under the machinery, the destruction was more than just the loss of timber, metal sheets, and salvaged building materials.

One unemployed vendor, Ziva Zvako, saw the demolition as a warning for what can happen when people with limited options lose the small businesses they’ve built for themselves.

“We keep saying that we are in a country with no industries and jobs are difficult to find. When we try to create something for ourselves and earn a few dollars, they come and destroy it,” said Zvako.

He fears that desperation could drive some people into crime if deprived of their means of survival. “I fear that when people are pushed into desperation and have no means of survival, some may end up resorting to stealing or robbing others,” he said. “People cannot be stripped of their livelihoods and then be expected to survive without any alternative.”

Zvako spoke as the Ruwa Local Board dispatched two bulldozers to tear down stalls in areas the council claims are outside approved trading zones. This crackdown has pitted the council’s enforcement of trading laws against the daily realities of vendors who say informal selling is their only way to survive.

For Zvako, the effects were immediate. He said he injured himself trying to save materials from his stall but could not afford to seek medical attention. He also said he pleaded with officials to allow him to dismantle his structure and salvage what he could, but his request was denied. “I am unemployed, I have no alternative source of income and I have nowhere else to turn. This was my only hope,” he explained.

Another vendor, known as Gogo va B, said the demolition now threatens her ability to pay rent and care for an orphaned child she has looked after since infancy. Her voice broke with emotion as she described what the loss meant for the children in her care.

She said she took in the orphaned child after her own daughter died and had hoped to use her earnings from vending to support both the girl, now nearly six and heading to school soon, and another child. “I had hoped that the little money I made from selling here would help me raise her and give her an education. But now I do not know how I am going to provide for her. I also have another child to look after. What am I supposed to do?” she said.

Demolition of her stall has left her uncertain about how she will meet everyday expenses, from rent to basic needs.

Some vendors say their frustrations go beyond losing their workplaces. Both Zvako and Gogo va B alleged that certain council officials demanded bribes to spare some stalls, with Zvako claiming some structures were untouched while others were destroyed.