Govt expedites formalisation of informal traders

RYAN CHIGOCHE

The Ministry of Public Service, Labour  and Social Welfare is expediting the formalisation of informal traders as government moves grow the sector.

Business Times can report that the ministry kick started the process last week.

Consultations with stakeholders in the informal sector began last week across the country.

No official comment could be obtained from the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Paul Mavima.

“Certainly, the government has pushed the agenda of the formalisation strategy of the informal economy and they already did formal consultations,” Zimbabwe Chamber of Informal Economy Association secretary General Wisborn Malaya told Business Times.

He added: “Since our organisation is well structured we were consulted. We aired out  our grievances to make sure that the strategy protects  us from criminalization we usually face when doing our work. As this process is taking place we really would like to applaud the government on this effort.’’

This is not the first time that the government is moving to formalise the informal sector. In 2016/17, the government tried to formalise the sector, the Ministry of SMEs.

However, the strategy did not work as informal workers and traders were not represented in the formulation process and they rejected and disassociated from it.

However, Malaya said  this time around the strategy was  being implemented in a proper way since the informal workers are involved and the informal traders are delighted that they have been included in the initial stages of coming up with the strategy.

Over the past two  decades several  formal companies have shut down, throwing thousands of workers onto the streets.

To eke out an honest living, several turned to  the informal sector.

Moreover, the sector has become a source of livelihood for many vulnerable groups in the country including the disabled, women, and youth.

According to the 2019 ZimStats Labour Survey, about 84.5% of employed people in the country are involved in the informal sector therefore it is incumbent for the government to intervene and help in the formalisation of the sector since the sector is key in terms of employment creation and economic growth.