Mtapa Market, a ticking time bomb.

Delicious Mathuthu

The lack of ablution facilities, basic infrastructure and services at Gweru’s largest trading market, Mtapa Market, poses a serious health threat to vendors and residents in the city and the entire Southern Region.

The market, which accommodates about 3000 vendors coming from as far as Gokwe, Chipinge and Gwanda, was established in 2020 just after the relaxation of the COVID-19 lockdown in Zimbabwe.

Vendors were moved to the market, away from Gweru’s Central Business District to pave way for the construction of vending stalls by the local authority and the cleaning up of the city’s streets.

Despite the high amount of human traffic at the market, there is no running water and ablution facilities to meet the needs of vendors and buyers. An illegal dumpsite a stone’s throw away, where vendors have been dumping rotten fruits and vegetables makes the market a hotspot for accelerating the spread of Cholera cases which have been recorded across the country.

Gweru Residents and Ratepayers Association (GRRA) Executive Director, Cornilia Selipiwe says residents are worried.

“Mtapa market is actually a time bomb. It’s really scarry when you hear news filtering through from Harare where there is an outbreak of cholera and typhoid.

“We are very much worried as citizens and residents of Gweru. The (City of Gweru) claim that the cite is illegal, and that they never  allocated people spaces for vending on it but we have a situation on our hands. Honestly, if an outbreak of typhoid or cholera is to occur it is the same local authority that is going to use its resources to respond to it,” Selipiwe said.

He called for the intervention of central government to bring sanity to Mtapa market as Gweru City Council has no capacity to provide basic services.

Judith Mukozhora, a vendor trading at the market bemoaned the struggles for survival without water and ablution facilities at the market.  She highlighted that vendors often suffer humiliation from using nearby bushes and a nearby cemetery to relieve themselves. Some vendors sleep at the market and at nightfall or early hours of the morning, they bath in the nearby bush which is also used as a toilet just less than 20 meters from one of the food canteens where they have their meals.

“We just relieve ourselves in the open and we nolonger care who sees us as long as we are relieved. We pay those with push-carts to fetch water for us at the City Council offices. As you can see, they also cook sadza next to where people defecate and it is sold to vendors at the market,” says Mukozhora.

“The bush patches behind Mtapa cemetery have now been turned into a giant open air toilet, a defecation zone by the unfortunate vendors,” said a worried Pastor David Chikore of Gweru United Progressive Residents and Ratepayers Development Association (GUPRARDA).

The lack of ablution facilities is taking its toll on the female vendors trading at the market.

“With no water or toilets, women are being deprived of their rights,” said Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (VISET) Gweru Coordinator, Rumbidzai Dube.  

“For example, women need the toilets when they’re on their menstrual cycle, so we end up with a situation where we see used pads everywhere. Toilets under construction are taking forever to be completed,” she added.

Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) Programs Officer, Sheron Chipadza, concurs with Dube on the need for toilets.

“Sanitary facilities are an important aspect of everyday life. Toilets are important for health, privacy and dignity, while WASH facilities are required for personal hygiene. Women will always be at a disadvantage under such circumstances,” she says.

Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) central region Coordinator Gracia Mashingaidze, says sanitation is a basic human right.

“Sanitation is a human right and is part of the Sustainable Development Goals, goal 6, which emphasizes that to address the needs of women and girls in particular, and those in vulnerable situations, special efforts are required.

Mtapa market female vendors continue to suffer disproportionately from inadequate sanitation and often cannot use a toilet when  they need to despite the fact that all institutions, including  workplaces, must aim to have safely managed drinking water and sanitation services,” Mashingaidze said.

Just across the road from the market is a densely populated high density suburb which runs the risk of being exposed to and spreading  diseases like cholera and typhoid if an outbreak occurs at the market. 

Beyond the health and human rights concerns, the situation at Mtapa market is also a threat to the environment. The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) has expressed concern over the dumpsite at Mtapa market saying prolonged dumping of biodegradable matter risks contaminating water bodies.

“The best way to manage biodegradable wastes is composting. However, if not managed well, leachate from the decomposition of such wastes can contribute to the pollution of water bodies,” said EMA Midlands Spokesperson, Oswald Ndlovu.

Leachate is fluid filtering through the landfills, generated from liquids present in the waste and from outside water, including rainwater.

“As the Environmental Management Agency we advise the vending community at large to desist from dumping waste in undesignated sites. Dumping of waste in undesignated sites results in pollution. Illegal dumps are also breeding sites for vectors that cause spread of diseases such as Cholera,” warned Ndlovu.

A solution for Mtapa market is urgently needed and until one is found, the lives of vendors and residents remain at high risk.