Story by John Nhandara
THE Mbare Musika Traders Mall in Harare is now complete and set for opening this week.
Mbare Musika traders, whose wares were destroyed by fire late last year, are breathing a sigh of relief following the completion of a new mall that will accommodate up to 1 000 traders.
“When our wares were destroyed by fire, we never thought we would get this kind of a facility so we are grateful to the government,” Mbare Retail Traders Association’s Chairperson Erasmus Bofo said.
This Monday, a government ministerial delegation assessed progress in the construction of the mall, which is set to be commissioned this week.
“We came as ministers to see progress before the commissioning of this project by His Excellency on Friday and we are satisfied with the progress,” the Minister of Local Government and Public Works Honourable Daniel Garwe noted.
“The first phase of the market is complete. Government is now ironing out some issues with traders on allocations and after that, the traders will be accommodated,” Harare Metropolitan Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Senator Charles Tawengwa stated.
The construction of the mall was a collaborative effort between government and other stakeholders including the Harare City Council.
“We are grateful to government for developing an all-stakeholder approach and private-public partnership which has seen these traders benefitting,” Harare City Council Mayor Councillor Jacob Mafume said.
Government has also mooted plans to modernise the Glenview Area 8 complex, where small to medium entrepreneurs are operating from.
