On the 28th of February 2018, Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (VISET) conducted the second “IBVA” Street and Constituency Conversations in Chitungwiza at Chigovanyika Shopping Complex. The Street Conversation was led by facilitators who were drawn from Chigovanyika in Chitungwiza with over 50 participants attending. The Street Conversations are platforms for the vendors to discuss amongst themselves their experiences of the previous and coming week regarding voter registration, exploring on the challenges they will have encountered and harnessing the opportunities emerging. The meetings allow the vendors to think and plan about new strategies and methods they can engage to get more vendors to register to vote.
The feedback from this meeting suggested that vendors in Chitungwiza are interested in registering to vote. Over 25 vendors have registered to vote since the exercise started at Chigovanyika. However, some members still lack relevant documents to ensure a smooth registration process. Some members have been turned away from the registrar’s office as they are only issuing out 20 IDs per day. VISET’s Vendors Voter Educators have facilitated the use of a referral system to help those who need IDs and collected their information so they can be assisted by VISET and like-minded organizations. In total, the Educators assisted over 134 people to get the relevant documentation to get registered as a voter.
Source: Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (VISET)
