THE fire incident which left several vendors grounded at the Mutize Flea Market in Bulawayo this Wednesday, has cast the spotlight on the need for entrepreneurs to insure their properties and goods.
Ms Opper Mataswa, who has been operating at Mutize Flea Market for over 20 years, is grounded after the fire incident which destroyed property worth half a million dollars at the trading facility this Wednesday.
“I came here in 1999 when we used to sell here without any structure and l was there when this flea market grew to what is now a centre where people come to buy for resell. I am here today trying to see what l can retrieve but seems there is nothing. I am hurting after so many years this is what l have to witness,” she said.
Just like Ms Mataswa, the other entrepreneurs operating at the flea market did not have insurance cover for such disasters.
“We are left without money as we had restocked in anticipation of the summer season and the opening of schools. We have suffered hugely and when the directors said we are cleaning we came here to ensure that we start again,” said another vendor.
Another added, “This place has left many in shock. People are just coming to see and come to terms with what has happened because this was a lifeline. People are here to figure out how best we can start afresh working with the owner of the place.”
“We are wondering how we will pick ourselves up from this situation and we are only getting to know how we would have insured our business and got the necessary financial help to start on,” another reiterated.
These entrepreneurs could have been better off had they insured their business ventures.
An insurance expert, Wellington Moyo said, “It is always sad to see start-up businesses facing these challenges, for us to look at the uptake of insurance sitting at 4% and looking at the contribution that the sector is providing to the GDP. To see the sector suffering losses from fire is a sad development and it is the role of insurance providers to bring back confidence so that the sector insures their business.
“People when they hear the word insurance, they think it is expensive and there is a need to demystify that myth. Lack of tailor information made insurance packages and lack of confidence in the insurance brokers has been highlighted as a stumbling block for the informal sector to absorb insurance schemes.”
“The financial consequences of a potential mishap like fire could easily wipe out the assets of a small business. Look at the flea market fire in Bulawayo and this means time to recoup the losses,” added another insurance expert, Ms Sibongile Tsano.
For now, there is not much that can be done to assist them, except psycho-social support from some stakeholders.
Mr Michael Ndiweni from the Bulawayo Vendors and Traders Association said, “It is high time that traders stand up and get insured because this means a lot of lives have been affected and currently we are offering psychosocial support.”
The flea market was one of the busiest in Bulawayo, offering wholesale and retail services to people from across the city and beyond.
