Council rejects application to operate Borrowdale market

The old stables at the Borrowdale Racecourse cannot be used as a food market because they do not meet the minimum health standards required, Harare City Council has ruled, although the group has been using them illegally as a weekend market since the middle of last month.

Since June last year, the businesspeople have been pushing for permits to be allowed to operate a market at the racecourse.

The application was made to the council’s health department last year, by Mrs Vicky Ann Bowen on June 15 using the trading name Old Stables Market, but the city’s Environmental and Health Office Licensing finally responded to the application last week.

“I regret to advise that your application cannot be recommended for issuance of a licence because the premises do not comply with the minimum health requirements as stated in the above pieces of legislation: Shop Licences Act, Harare Licenced Premises By-Laws, Regional Town and Country Planning Act, Covid-19 Regulations and Public Health Act.

Over the weekend, the businesspeople however advertised that they were going to open from 8am to 2pm despite having their application dismissed. Police have since warned that necessary action will be taken against those found in defiance of the country’s laws.

While it is likely that if the licence had been granted to sell food and agricultural produce, it could have operated during those hours during a level foour lockdown to sell food items only, so long as other lockdown provisions were followed, the fact that it was not licensed made it illegal from the start.

Since January 16, there have been more than 60 vendors operating during the weekends selling fruit and other agricultural produce with the vendors reportedly being charged about US$10 for a table per day to sell at the site.

An advertisement posted on social media read: “Open Saturday 16th January . . . Old Stables Market . . . Your trusted source of goodness”. Vendors and buyers thronged the area for business which opened at 6am and closed around 3pm.

Police were apparently misled that a certain company was distributing groceries to people at the racecourse that had been bought by their relatives and friends in South Africa. It is alleged the company obtained documents from authorities to conduct the distribution, but investigations revealed that some of the stables were being turned into vending stalls.-herald.cl.zw