The novel coronavirus (COVID- 19) which was first detected in China is a solid confirmation that every country needs to be ready to timely detect and manage outbreaks of any type. At the Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (VISET) we have been investing all our expertise and passion in supporting our members throughout the country in this endeavour. This is at the core of our mandate and in line with our safeguarding policy, we seek to ensure that Informal Traders and SMEs operate from safe environs. Although Zimbabwe is yet to officially record any case of COVID 19, we are alive to the fact that an outbreak of COVID -19 in Zimbabwe will have far reaching implications to the ability of our members, throughout the country, to trade freely. To that end we will continue to urge the Government of Zimbabwe to treat the outbreak of The COVID- 19 with the seriousness that it deserves and immediately allocate requisite resources to deal with the pandemic.
We believe that timely action is fundamental for early containment and to that end we urge our members to cooperate with authorities as the nation tries to prevent or at least minimize the negative ramifications of the outbreak in Zimbabwe.
At a time of uncertainty about the way the virus originated and behaves, it is even more critical that the Government, Private Sector, Development Partners and the international community act as one. We need to move as one country, in scaling up our ability to prepare and respond together.
As VISET, we are putting in place a Comprehensive Informal Sector Response Plan CISERP and the plan is going to be anchored on our recently adopted Organisational Safeguarding Policy. The Comprehensive Informal Sector Response Plan will include reaching out to the right sectors and partners, engaging health professionals and communities, supporting and sharing information in a transparent manner to facilitate knowledge and action. Our leadership structures throughout the country will play a key role in ensuring that CISERP is understood by everyone and that it is implemented for the benefit of our members and all players in the Informal Economy.
Source: Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (VISET)
