HARARE – The Harare City Council has announced yet another operation to remove illegal vendors from the central business district (CBD), with the latest crackdown set to begin on Wednesday evening.
As with previous operations, the initiative will be backed by the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), who have been involved in numerous unsuccessful attempts to clear the city of informal traders in the past.
Speaking during the launch of a revenue collection blitz on behalf of acting town clerk Phakamile Moyo, housing director Addmore Nhekairo confirmed that the latest campaign had been agreed upon in consultation with the Ministry of Local Government.
“We had a meeting with the (local government) ministry on zero vending in the CBD, whose operation starts Wednesday night,” Nhekairo said.
“This needs to be resourced so that it becomes a success. It is a serious initiative that will be supported by the ZRP.”
Despite repeated efforts to rid the CBD of illegal vendors through government-backed initiatives such as Operation Chenesa Harare, authorities have struggled to find a lasting solution. The high unemployment rate in Zimbabwe has driven many, including university graduates, into street vending, selling food, clothes, vegetables, fruits, and second-hand goods to make ends meet.
Street vendors often find themselves engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with municipal authorities, who confiscate their wares and make arrests. Council vehicles used in these operations have been criticised for operating recklessly, disregarding traffic laws while pursuing elderly women selling tomatoes and young boys vending sweets.
Efforts to clean up Harare date back to Operation Murambatsvina in the early 2000s, with multiple similar operations conducted over the years, yet the problem persists.
Last year, Harare City Council’s health services director, Prosper Chonzi, admitted that authorities were failing to control illegal vending due to economic hardships.
“The general economy is playing against us; we have been playing hide and seek after vendors, and it is not working,” Chonzi said.
“I am not happy with the vending situation in the city. It is plain against what we are trying to achieve.”
