Wage Earners

For years, Zimbabwean single mother Spiwe Tembo would sell buns on the streets of central Harare, earning enough to feed her three children. But her fortunes have dived. Since authorities banned street hawkers a year ago as part of a raft of measures to limit the spread of Covid-19, she plays cat-and-mouse with the police who comb the streets to rid them of vendors. “Things are tough,” the 34-year-old said, waving a packet of large buns to potential customers on a busy street in a part of Harare that locals call “Third World” because it is always teeming. She said: “We get arrested by municipal and national police. Almost daily I pay bribes to police officers to avoid getting arrested.” On the days she doesn’t have any cash, the inevitable happens and she is arrested and her wares seized. ...