Fresh meat sold on the open market

By Vimbai Kamoyo

HARARE and Chitungwiza municipal councils say they are fighting an uphill battle to rid the capital and its dormitory town of illegal street vendors.

They say the problem is difficult to control, but for anybody who passes through the capital’s flea markets the vendors are thriving and offer a ready source of cheap food and other household goods.

Even fresh meat can be bought openly on street corners in Harare and Chitungwiza in defiance of strict regulations controlling the sale of meat. City health officials say these vendors present a serious health risk to unsuspecting residents buying their products.

A snap survey revealed that meat – including fish and offal – is being sold on the streets of Harare and Chitungwiza in blatant violation not only of the Public Health Act but municipal by-laws.

The vendors interviewed admitted knowing they were violating the by-laws but were forced into doing so to fend for their families.

“We have to do this because we have families to take care of. If we do not do this our families will suffer so we will continue selling the meat. Right now, I am sending my children to school through this business.

“Why would it be a problem when we sell here but people in the rural areas can sell slaughtered beasts from huts? In any case where are the jobs?” asked one woman who sells at the corner of Nelson Mandela Avenue and Chinhoyi Street.

She said she buys fish from Norton, chicken offal from local poultry breeders and meat from farms around the capital for resale. The meat is stored in open dishes with fly-whisks used to chase away flies.

A visit to one poultry breeder revealed that chicken cuts and offal are bought with relative ease, cheap and in large quantities making them profitable for vendors to resale. A kilogram of offal costs US$0, 50 and vendors make a profit of US$2 per kilogram according to a vendor who was buying the offal.

The meat which is stored in open dishes with only flywhisks used to chase flies from it has become cheap relish for many families and a source of livelihood for many in a country with a very high unemployment rate believed to be over 80 percent.

Derrick Chatera who sells meat at “Unit L” in Chitungwiza said they try by all means to minimize diseases caused by contaminated meat as they want to keep their customers’ faith in what they sell.

“We use flywhisks to chase flies and we make sure we do not sell meat that we feel has gone bad, for example one cannot sell fish for more than two days. Meat or fish that would have been left is stored in a refrigerator, deep freezer. The reason we are still in the business today is we sell healthy meat,” he asserts.

However, the Public Health Act of 1996, which regulates public health conduct in the country, exclusively prohibits the sale of “unwholesome, diseased or contaminated articles of food” and places where meat should be sold.

Chapter 15:09 of the same Act section 69 (1) says “no person shall sell, or prepare, keep, transmit or expose for sale, any milk, dairy produce, meat or other article of food which is not clean, wholesome, sound and free from disease or infection or contamination; and no person shall collect, prepare manufacture keep, transmit or expose for sale any such article without taking adequate measures to guard or prevent any infection or contamination there of”.

Section 69(1) says “if any person contravenes subsection (1) he shall be guilty of an offence and liable to an offence and a liable to a fine”.

The Act also provides health authorities power to assess places where animals are slaughtered, kept and sold which the vendors are found wanting as they are consistently raided by municipal police a fact Chitera acknowledged.

“We have running battles with the police time and again but now we have moles within the councils who tip us when the municipal police are coming so we become alert of the impending raids. In the event that we get caught we pay US$10 as fine. The republic police are not so much a bother like the municipal police. It is difficult to bribe them as you can put yourself in trouble if they refuse and report you, so we do not bribe. Generally we depend on our moles in the municipality,” he said.

Some residents said they were buying meat from the streets as it was more affordable compared to meat from licensed butcheries and outlets.

A woman who identified herself as Mai Tino who was buying what was claimed to be beef said she was buying the meat from the streets as that was affordable for her.

“That is what we can afford. Many butcheries charge $6 per kilogram and that is a lot for someone with a large family like mine,” she explained.

But a top Harare Municipality health officer who spoke on condition of anonymity citing professional reasons said “untreated” meat will in matter of hours or days become unappetizing and poisonous.

“Untreated meat can in a matter of hours or days become unappetizing and poisonous. This is caused either by bacteria or fungi. Diseases such as salmonellosis, which is an infection of salmonella bacteria, are a result of such meat. Most people with salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, vomiting and abdominal cramps. I am advising people never to buy meat from non-regularized sellers as they will be putting their lives in danger,” he said.

City of Harare spokesperson Leslie Gwindi said the vendors were a nightmare for the council as they have become difficult to control.

“We have a challenge in controlling the vendors in the capital, including meat vendors, and it is common knowledge that we do not want them in the city as it is unhealthy and unhygienic. We however have municipal police who are fighting hard to put everything in order,” said Gwindi.

Gwindi’s sentiments were echoed by a top Chitungwiza Municipal official who said they were fighting the “menace” of illegal vending.

“We are seized with the fight against vending meat and fish in this town. It is a menace that we do not like to see. Shopping centres like the one at “L” is notorious for that. We are trying our best and we will continue doing so,” he said.