In Bulawayo, the informal sector is not an anomaly, it is the backbone of the city’s economy. From early morning markets to late evening roadside stalls, informal traders, predominantly women, power the daily hustle that keeps food on tables and communities afloat. Yet despite their immense contribution, these traders often face more punishment than support.
A Position Paper on Gender Responsive Public Service Provision recently presented to stakeholders in the city by FES Youth Leadership Training Alumni, highlights a pressing truth that Bulawayo’s informal traders are not a problem to be policed but they are a workforce to be facilitated. The current enforcement heavy approach has left many women trading “from their bags,” dodging authorities in unsafe, unsanitary, and unregulated environments. These conditions increase vulnerability to harassment, poor hygiene, loss of income, and even gender-based violence.
The Bulawayo City Council is already steps ahead towards facilitating trade as it is currently developing an SMEs policy for the city and has an existing Gender Policy. However, implementation of these policies remains a pressing issue in facilitating trade especially for women. Facilitating trade, rather than enforcing rigid formalities, brings tangible benefits for both the traders and the city at large. Supporting informal traders through inclusive licensing and structured spaces can grow the city’s revenue base without the need for punitive fines. Recognizing and integrating informal traders strengthens the local economy, reduces unemployment, and builds resilience against urban poverty. Moreover, organized and serviced trading areas reduce littering and improve hygiene in public spaces, easing the burden on overstretched municipal cleaning services.
A gender-responsive, facilitative approach must go beyond policy statements and deliver real, practical changes in how the city designs and manages trading environments. Key strategies include development of affordable, Safe, and Accessible Market Stalls. The council and its partners should build and refurbish trading bays in central and high-traffic areas, prioritizing accessibility for women, persons with disabilities, and caregivers. It should make rentals affordable and free from the influence of “space barons.” These efforts should prioritize the provision of basic infrastructure such as street lighting, rain shelters, and waste bins to improve safety, hygiene, and operating conditions. Gender responsive service provision ensures that every trading site includes free, well-maintained and gender-sensitive ablution facilities. Access to safe sanitation is a dignity issue and a public health imperative.
Facilitating informal trade is not just a social justice issue, it is an economic strategy. Bulawayo cannot afford to criminalize the very women who hold up its informal economy. With the right infrastructure, policies, and political will, the city can turn informal markets into engines of inclusive growth and community well-being. The time has come to stop chasing traders off the streets and start building with them. In doing so, Bulawayo will not only improve livelihoods it will reimagine itself as a city that works for everyone.
Article by Thando Gwinji
Youth For Innovation Trust 