Xipamanine municipal market of reopens; with 6,000 informal vendors still out – reports

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Xipamanine municipal market of reopens; with 6,000 informal vendors still out – reports

3:01 CAT | 18 Jun 2020

All photos: Miramar

The municipal market in Xipamanine reopened to the public today, after a three-day closure.

But while the Maputo Municipal Council says everyone will have stalls, informal vendors there claim that they have been left with no space.

Outside the market there gathered hundreds of vendors, mostly women, who felt excluded from the market re-qualifying process, O País reports.

Inside the market, there is a new layout for the stalls and pitches, with more space in the walkways between them, and a new configuration with improved security for the vendors.

The Municipality of Maputo accedes to some delay in the requalification of the informal sector at Xipamanine, but denies that spaces are being sold, promising that all 6,000 informal vendors will be catered for.

The temporary closure of the Zimpeto wholesale market was meanwhile postponed until Monday, at the request of the sellers.

Miramar’s report found city council markings at most of the newsstands, indicating social distancing requirements.

For most of the vendors, however, these were days of great uncertainty, as they did not know if they were returning or not. But now they are back in business, although some with complaints about the condition of their stock.

Outside, Miramar reports, the informal part of the market is in chaos, the vendors there adrift with no space to sell, much less the chance of an allocated stand. Voices of indignation in the dozens rise in chorus.