EDITORIAL COMMENT : Foundation for healthy communities

01 May, 2020 - 00:05 0 Views
EDITORIAL COMMENT : Foundation for healthy communities

The ManicaPost

LAST week saw Mutare City Council opening new vending markets in Mutare’s Chikanga, Dangamvura and Hob-House.

The move has since been welcomed by most residents in the three sprawling high density areas as they no longer have to travel long distances to buy vegetables and fruits.

In accordance with Government’s directives, farmers and vegetable vendors have been conducting business throughout the lockdown as they have to keep the nation fed during this global Covid-19 crisis.

They need to keep the food supplies flowing.

Fresh farm produce markets have always been critical in increasing access to food, especially in low-income areas.

They are also the smallholder farmers’ hunting grounds as they bring the farmers and their clients together, thereby empowering them economically.

In an effort to keep the nation well fed during the lockdown, new markets close to the people had to be created and this is proving to be what the doctor prescribed for the local residents.

The farm produce now passes through fewer hands as the arrangement has shortened the supply chain.

In the recent past, residents had to wait for vegetable vendors to bring the produce from Sakubva Market, at times under unhygienic conditions. 

This has also accorded residents the chance to access a wider choice of the produce they want, as well as saving on transport costs.

These decentralised markets serve a vital economic role too, as they support neighbourhood revitalisation, incubate small businesses who may otherwise lack capital and offer a local supply chain that directly benefits local economies.

However, with the Covid-19 pandemic wreaking havoc across the world, there is need for adherence to safety measures to control the spread of the disease.

A stitch in time saves nine.

Crowded market places are a fertile ground for the spread of the disease.

In this instance, hundreds of people are converging at the markets every morning. The congestion is worsened by vehicles that transport farm produce from rural and peri-urban areas to the markets.

Vendors scramble for the best produce when trucks arrive to off-load the commodities, hence violating the physical distancing guidelines. With litter strewn all over the place, Sakubva Market had become a ticking time bomb.

We cannot allow the new markets to go down that same path.

It is important to ensure that good personal hygiene is practised so as to minimise transmission chances.

Water and ablution facilities must be availed to enable the people to practise good personal hygiene.

The city fathers should also consider the possibility that this virus may continue to be a threat well into the future. They must take action and develop a plan that will safeguard the farmers and their clients.

At the moment, the vending sites do not have basic social amenities like toilets with running water, storage facilities for the farm produce and sanitisers, thereby putting the people at risk of contracting Covid-19 and other communicable diseases.

These provisions should have been put in place well before the new markets were opened to the public.

Mutare City Council and other local authorities across the province need to invest in the decentralised markets as they are critical sources of the community’s physical and economic well-being.

The new markets can lay the foundation for healthy communities now and after the recovery from Covid-19.

They need everyone’s support.

This pandemic has presented a chance for everyone to reflect on how to address various socio-economic challenges bedevilling society.

We need long-term investments to support the various small enterprises and social infrastructure across the province, especially in the high-density areas where the majority lives.

The time to act is now.

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