By Dickson Bandera
National Vendors Union Zimbabwe (NAVUZ) Chairperson Sten Zvorwadza has expressed deep concern over the worsening conditions faced by vendors, which he says are crippling their livelihoods. He promised a series of engagements aimed at improving the welfare of vendors across the country.
In an address titled “Three Weeks of Silence, A Nation Suffocating Between Two Sharp Horns,” Zvorwadza focused on two key issues: an unjust tax system and widespread police corruption. He described the 2% Intermediated Money Transfer Tax (IMTT) as a blanket punishment on the poor and ambitious, while accusing some police officers of extorting bribes from vulnerable vendors.
Zvorwadza revealed that he had reached out to the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Professor Mthuli Ncube seeking the scrapping of the 2% tax on vendors. The letter, where NAVUZ was representing over six million informal workers was submitted to the minister on 10 March 2025 —but received no response.
“That letter was not a formality. It was not symbolic. It was a declaration of pain and a desperate call for relief. It carried the collective voice of millions of informal traders, street vendors, cross-border hustlers, micro-entrepreneurs – Zimbabweans who form the backbone of this country’s real economy. And yet, three weeks later, that voice has been met with nothing but silence,” said Zvorwadza.
He went on to condemn the silence from government officials.
“We condemn this silence because silence, in this context, is not neutral. It is not merely political delay—it is abandonment. It is not just bureaucratic—it is deliberate disregard for the lives of the poor,” he lamented.
According to Zvorwadza, vendors are suffering from a dual burden: punitive taxation and rampant corruption, criticizing the IMTT for being indiscriminate and harmful to micro-businesses.
“Today, we say this loud and clear: Informal workers in Zimbabwe are trapped between two sharp and deadly horns—the 2% IMTT levy, and daily ZRP and municipal police corruption,” he added.
“On one side, the 2% Intermediated Money Transfer Tax is bleeding every transaction dry. It takes from vendors whether they profit or not. It punishes women who buy tomatoes in bulk at dawn. It taxes micro-businesses trying to restock, regroup, and reinvest,” he further noted.
Zvorwadza also addressed the deepening issue of corruption within the Zimbabwe Republic Police and Municipal Police, especially at night.
“At night, under the veil of darkness, some ZRP officers prey on unprotected vendors. Bribes are demanded. Threats are issued. Goods are confiscated. Dignity is destroyed.
Let the nation understand this: We are taxed by the state by day, and extorted by rogue ZRP officers by night,” he lamented.
He emphasized that the situation is no longer tolerable and requires urgent action.
“This is not just a crisis of policy. It is a crisis of conscience. An urgent solution is needed.
We are being punished for surviving.
How long shall we be punished for being resilient?
How long shall a woman selling vegetables in Harare be the government’s cash cow, and the target of harassment from state security agents?
The same government that refuses to provide social protection turns around and taxes the smallest transaction.
The same law enforcement that should protect, instead hunts.
This IS NOT A NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT MODEL—this is economic cruelty and serious economic violence.”
Zvorwadza questioned the rationale behind the 2% levy, saying it undermines the very goals it claims to support.
“We were told that the 2% levy would contribute in formalising our economy. But what is formalisation when it discourages formal banking? What is financial inclusion when people are running back to cash because of unbearable taxes and corrupt policing?
This tax does not build Zimbabwe—it shrinks it.
It does not lift people out of poverty—it locks them in it.”
He urged the government to learn from the experiences of other African countries that abandoned similar policies due to their harmful effects.
“We cited Kenya, Tanzania, and Ghana in our letter. Countries that realised too late the damage such taxes inflict on their people.
They reversed their policies after social resistance. Why must Zimbabwe be the last to learn and the first to make its people suffer?
We will not disappear. We will not retreat.
Three weeks of silence from your office has only made our voice louder. And if the government does not hear us in Parliament, in the corridors of power—it will hear us in the streets, in the markets, in the hearts of citizens who know this injustice must end.”
In closing, Zvorwadza outlined four key demands:
A public response from the Ministry of Finance regarding the NAVUZ letter.
The urgent scrapping of the 2% IMTT on informal sector transactions.
A formal meeting between NAVUZ and the Ministry.
A public inquiry into corruption by rogue ZRP officers extorting vendors at night.
He concluded with a strong call to action:
“Build with us—not against us.
The informal sector is not a problem to fix.
It is a people to empower.
We are not Zimbabwe’s economic threat—we are its hope.
If you continue to tax the poor and protect corruption, you are no longer governing—you are exploiting.
Scrap the 2%. Investigate rogue officers. Respect the informal sector.
Let us build Zimbabwe together—not on our backs, but with our voices, our dignity, and our contribution.”
