apparent that the BCC does not have full control over the activities of all its council employees; this is likely a direct result of attempts by ZANU PF to enhance cracks in the council ahead of this year’s Mayoral election. In the meantime, it is quite literally the vendors who are paying the price, through seized goods. Flea markets On weekends, vending is allowed at designated points. While this is welcome, weekend business is not good in most areas; the weekday passing trade, when the main business centres are open, has always been the major source of vending income in the past. Vendors pay a weekend rent to city council to have a bay at these markets, but complain that considering the low volume of business, the rent is high. Rents are Z$ 1,2 thousand (million) for fruit and vegetables, and Z$ 2,5 thousand (million) per weekend.36 Temporary bays In the opinion of the BCC, the likelihood of the repeatedly promised “formal marts” materialising any time soon is dim: there is no money, either within Nyoni’s Ministry or within the BCC for building in this hyperinflationary economy. The BCC invested large sums over the years building marts in the city centre and elsewhere, and these were all destroyed under OM. The BCC has therefore very recently, in the last fortnight of July, finalised a negotiated agreement with the police that they may allocate temporary vending bays around the city centre and suburbs. In seven high-density suburbs, temporary bays for hundreds of vendors will shortly be awarded on the basis that these will be replaced with permanent structures as soon as possible. This is an important step forward, and it is to be hoped that all those in authority will allocate more temporary bays in as many suburbs as possible to alleviate the intense hardship being endured by vendors and the thousands of extended family members who depend on them. Permanent bays – one billion (trillion) needed Plans have already been drawn up by BCC to build 99 permanent marts, each with between 80 and 150 bays, in 13 high-density suburbs and in 18 low-density suburbs. According to BCC officials, based on costs at the end of July 2006, one bay costs Z$ 70 thousand (70 million) to construct.37 A recent cost analysis of the vending bays needed by the city came up with a budget of a massive 721 million (721 billion), which with inflation by this month could be estimated to have risen to well over a billion (trillion). Everything is ready to go on this project – except the money. This year, the total budget given to Bulawayo by government under OGHK, for building of both houses and vending marts, was 5 million (5 billion)! Even the smallest of these 99 vending marts, for 80 bays, would cost more than this total budget. In other words, the total OGHK budget for the first six months of 2006 has been less than 1% of the vending needs alone, without even considering housing! While the BCC is hopeful that there will be a further allocation to OGHK from the supplementary budget approved in July, without doubt this will once more amount to a paltry amount in terms of the city’s needs, and will be entirely absorbed in trying to complete the half finished houses in Cowdray Park.38 36 New monetary value since 21 August 2006, followed by old value in brackets. In Zimbabwe’s hyperinflationary climate, this cost will already, a month later be well over Z$100,000 (100,000,000). 38 See section ahead on OGHK and housing. 37 24