Special reports
Return of Zambian vendors rattles merchants in Victoria Falls
BY FORTUNE MOYO
While waiting for customers, Sikhulile Ngwenya, a local vendor at the Mkhosana market, carefully loads her stall with cabbages, carrots, avocados, tomatoes and choumolier, a dark green, spinach-like vegetable with slightly crumpled leaves.
A faint sound of local music playing on the radio at a shop not too far away reverberates through the market.
Housed in a red-brick structure, the market — one of two in Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls city — is divided into 20 stalls, including Ngwenya’s, all displaying a variety of vegetables and fruit, neatly and attractively packed.
It is a busy area just behind a small shopping center where taxis drop off and pick up Mkhosana residents.
This has been Ngwenya’s source of livelihood for more than 10 years.
“I have raised my four children from this vegetable stall,” she says. But today she feels a constant threat and uncertainty looming over her livelihood.
The reopening of the Zimbabwe-Zambia border, more than two years after it was closed in 2020 as a precautionary measure to combat the coronavirus pandemic, paved the way for the return of vegetable vendors from neighboring Zambia.
And even though the informal cross-trading relationship between Zambia and Zimbabwe has long been mutually beneficial, the return of Zambians has rattled vendors like Ngwenya, who say that their profits plummeted since the opening and that the competition is no longer fair.
The “good business” during the pandemic has made Zimbabwean vendors realize, Ngwenya says, that Zambians are making money illegally “in our territory at no cost” and demand they be brought under the purview of law.
Zambia and Zimbabwe share similar social and cultural practices, making the movement of people between the countries easy.
Zambian vendors cross over from the nearby city of Livingstone in their country to sell vegetables to residents of Victoria Falls, a tourism city on the Zimbabwean side.
In the early mornings, the Zambian vendors, popularly known as omzanga, a Nyanja term meaning “friend,” cross the Victoria Falls Bridge — the only route from Zambia to Zimbabwe.
The omzangas can easily be identified by the effortless way in which they balance the containers loaded with vegetables on their heads, or the carefully tied merchandise on their backs, wrapped with bright, colorful fabric in bold designs, popularly known as zambias.
When borders were closed here like elsewhere globally, cross-border trade was allowed only for the movement of large commercial goods, not for people.
As a result, local vendors enjoyed a monopoly over the market because customers had no option but to buy vegetables from them, even if their prices were higher than those of their Zambian competitors.
But local vendors say locals know and understand the reasons for the higher prices.
The farms in Zambia are close by. As a result, the Zambian vendors always have easy access to fresh fruit and vegetables.
Local vendors, on the other hand, have to get their vegetables from places like Lupane, 264 kilometres (away; Bulawayo, 435 kilometres away; and sometimes as far as Harare, 874 kilometres away, because those are the closest farms to Victoria Falls.
This forces them to sell at higher prices because it costs more to acquire the produce.
It doesn’t help that local vendors must operate from their designated spots in the markets, for which they pay rent to the municipality, while the Zambian vendors can move door to door.
Ngwenya, who pays the Victoria Falls municipality $16 a month for her stall, says during the first government-mandated coronavirus lockdown, she made US$15 to US$25 a day, but now she makes US$10 to US$15 a day.
“Because vendors sell door to door, our customers no longer visit the market,” says Ngwenya.
“This is now a threat to our livelihoods as we no longer sell much, because residents would rather wait for the Zambian vendors sitting in their homes.”
The pandemic gravely affected tourism here, and many people were laid off.
With no Zambian vendors in the picture then, many Zimbabweans took up selling vegetables as a means of livelihood.
But after the border opened, and months later when restrictions were lifted completely, they realized that Zambians were “stealing” the local clientele and they needed to address the issue, says Grace Shoko, vice chairperson of the Zambezi Informal Cross Border Traders Association.
Shoko, whose organiSation was founded in late 2021 in Victoria Falls to resolve issues between local and Zambian traders, says representatives of the association have spoken with authorities and vendors from both sides of the border, to try to find a workable solution.
Naomi, a Zambian vendor who prefers that only her first name be used for fear of being targeted, says when she sells in Zimbabwe, she makes more money than when selling in Zambia because in Zimbabwe she sells in United States dollars, which she converts to Zambian kwacha back in her country, giving her a substantial amount.
“I understand that it is unfair that locals are not allowed to sell door to door, and we can,” she said.
“However … I am also doing what I can to support my family in Zambia.”
Exact figures for informal cross-border trade are hard to come by because of its unrecorded nature, but such trade constitutes a major form of informal activity in most African countries.
In fact, in the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), which includes Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe, cross-border trading has an estimated value of about US$17.6 billion, which accounts for 30% to 40% of intra-Sadc trade.
Even though informal cross-border traders carry different types of goods, trade in sub-Saharan Africa is dominated by food, particularly groceries and fresh produce.
Until recently, Zambian vendors coexisted with local vendors, without any large-scale resentment or demands.
But now, as most coronavirus restrictions have been lifted, easing the movement of people, some vendors have come together to express this displeasure collectively, with the help of organisations like the Mkhosana vendors association, lobbying for a level playing field and an end to what they say is an undue advantage for Zambians.
Mercy Mushare, a member of the Mkhosana vendors association, says the group is in talks with the municipality to put in place bylaws that protect local vendors or build stalls for Zambian vendors.
“We are not saying Zambians should not come and sell, but they should abide by the same bylaws which we abide by.
They should not be at an advantage over locals,” says Mushare. (The association has a membership of about 300 vendors.)
The city’s bylaws stipulate that vendors should sell from designated places and not move around the city.
But the laws apply only to local vendors.
Mandla Dingani, spokesperson for the Victoria Falls municipality, says the municipality is well aware of the tension between omzangas and local vendors.
“We are in the process of coming up with a way of ensuring that even Zambian vendors sell from designated stalls and also pay a monthly fee for selling in Victoria Falls,” Dingani says.
Sibusiso Dube, a resident of Chinotimba, worries that strict action against Zambian vendors might eventually hurt the common Zimbabwean.
“It is unfair for Zambian traders to have more freedom … but if Zambian traders are barred totally, we will suffer because local vendors will increase their prices of vegetables beyond the reach of many, as we experienced when borders were closed during Covid-19,” he says.
Standing in front of her stall, Ngwenya says what she knows is that she is suffering losses. Despite that, this is the only work she has known over the years, and switching to anything else now is out of the question for her. – Global Press Journal
Slider
Zimbabwe pushes youth-centred, rights-based, and community-driven reforms ahead of CITES CoP20
BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI
As the world prepares for the 20th Conference of the Parties (CoP20) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), Zimbabwe has outlined a bold and comprehensive policy agenda that shifts global discussions beyond ivory and toward broader issues of sustainable use, human rights, and community empowerment.
In an exclusive interview with VicFallsLive, Dr. Agrippa Sora, board chairman of the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks), said the country’s proposals are anchored on a simple but transformative message: wildlife conservation must deliver real benefits to the people living with wildlife.
Key proposals Zimbabwe taking to CITES CoP20
1. Commercial trade in elephant leather products
Zimbabwe is pushing for approval to engage in regulated commercial trade in elephant leather products. Authorities argue that this form of value addition can bring economic gains to local communities, promote sustainable use, and reduce reliance on donor funding.
2. A formal voice for communities within CITES
Zimbabwe is advocating for the establishment of an Advisory Body or Community Forum within CITES, ensuring that the voices of rural people—who coexist with wildlife—formally shape decisions on international trade, conservation restrictions, and benefit-sharing.
This push echoes one of the founding principles of CITES, which acknowledges that “peoples and States are and should be the best protectors of their own wild fauna and flora.”
3. Recognition of human rights within conservation governance
Zimbabwe’s delegation wants CoP20 to acknowledge the human rights dimensions of conservation—particularly:
- The right to safety for communities facing human–wildlife conflict
- The right to food security
- The right to benefit from natural resources within their landscapes
For Zimbabwe, these rights are inseparable from wildlife management.
Moving beyond ivory: A broader view of sustainable use
Dr. Sora emphasized that Zimbabwe does not want the CoP20 debate to be reduced to ivory.
Zimbabwe argues that without these broader interventions, the conservation model remains unbalanced—protecting wildlife while leaving the people who live among it trapped in poverty
Youth at the centre of the conservation agenda
One of the strongest themes in Zimbabwe’s CoP20 position is youth empowerment, an area Dr. Sora said is now central to national conservation policy.
“Zimbabwe is supporting the Youth Ethnic Conservation Agenda, and we want to continue empowering young people,” Dr. Sora said.
“These are young people who travel long distances between villages and shopping centres, often unaware of wildlife incidents happening around them.”
He revealed that Zimbabwe has approved the establishment of a national chapter of the CITES Rural Youth Network, a platform designed to give young rural citizens a voice in global conservation decision-making.
Dr. Sora said young people—often traveling long distances between villages and service centres—are the first responders to wildlife encounters, yet are rarely included in policy processes.
“Their inclusion is critical for awareness, safety, and community resilience,” he said.
A rights-based approach linked to national priorities
Dr. Sora linked Zimbabwe’s CITES proposals to the country’s National Development Strategy (NDS2), which prioritises poverty eradication.
“We want to ensure that communities living within wildlife landscapes receive meaningful support and benefits from the natural resources around them,” he said.
This includes promoting value addition—for example, crafting products from elephant leather—and enabling community enterprises tied to legal wildlife products.
“We are promoting opportunities for value addition so that communities can benefit economically from the wildlife with which they coexist.”
He added that the board is committed to transitioning youth from vulnerability to empowerment, ensuring access to education, business opportunities, and long-term livelihoods.
Unlocking finance through sustainable use
Zimbabwe also plans to push for financial mechanisms—particularly the sustainable use of existing wildlife stockpiles—to support community development.
“Our aim is to secure mechanisms that allow us to reinvest in these communities, strengthening their resilience and ensuring they thrive alongside wildlife.”
Zimbabwe argues that restrictive global trade rules deprive communities of funding that could improve safety, reduce human–wildlife conflict, and support conservation programs.
Zimbabwe’s position rooted in CITES founding principles
Zimbabwe’s proposals, Dr. Sora said, are consistent with the spirit of CITES itself.
The convention’s preamble affirms:
Wild fauna and flora are an irreplaceable part of the earth’s natural systems… Peoples and States are and should be the best protectors of their own wild fauna and flora… International cooperation is essential to prevent over-exploitation…
Zimbabwe believes that empowering communities, recognizing human rights, and enabling sustainable use are simply modern applications of these foundational principles.
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