Informal traders at the Mbare Magaba Siyaso home industry have reportedly resumed trading in clear defiance of the government’s lockdown regulation, Newsday reports.
The matter came to light during a survey that was conducted by the publication, Vendors that spoke to the publication said they could not stay at home as they starved due to the lockdown and said:
I can’t stay at home while I have nothing to eat. The seven days that I have been at home doing nothing have been tough. It’s better that I play hide and seek with the police and get to put food on the table than face the prospect of watching my family starve – Eliot Magama
Government should have secured funding for the informal traders so that they don’t starve when they are not allowed to conduct their operations. People are dying of COVID-19, but for me, there is no difference. It’s better to die trying, – Onias Mapanga
The government imposed a 30 days lockdown on 2 January to try and curb spreading COVID-19 a move that was challenged by Zimbabwe Informal Sectors Organisation (ZISO) led by its executive director Promise Mkwananzi. The court reserved judgment on the matter
