Harare’s informal traders have been handed a 60-day window to move into the regulated economy under a Cabinet-approved package that promises serviced trading sites, access to working capital and a new vendors’ body to co-manage pitches — while at the same time tightening the screws on those who keep trading in undesignated areas.
Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Zhemu Soda outlined the plan at a post-Cabinet briefing in Harare, saying it is built on four pillars: legislating, providing infrastructure, formalising traders and enforcing city by-laws. The drive will be run jointly with the City of Harare and other stakeholders.
What the 60-day window offers traders
Under the programme, vendors will be helped to register and regularise their operations and will be allocated space in designated trading areas, while Government accelerates work on vending infrastructure across the capital. The specific commitments announced include:
- A 60-day one-stop formalisation drive delivered in partnership with the City of Harare and relevant agencies.
- Servicing of 100 identified vending sites in Harare’s suburbs with potable water, ablution facilities, lighting, shelter, waste management and storage.
- Development of a modern satellite market on the edge of the central business district.
- Creation of a Harare Vendors Council to co-manage trading sites and handle disputes.
- Linkages between formalised traders and financial institutions so they can access working capital.
A CBD Urban Management Command chaired by the municipality will oversee a “Clear, Clean, Keep” campaign intended to restore order to the city centre.
Amnesty first, then enforcement
The 60-day facility in Harare will be matched by a 30-day amnesty for informal traders in other parts of the country, after which enforcement is expected to harden. The announcement follows a seven-day ultimatum and the launch of an operation code-named Chenesa Harare Final, which targeted illegal vending in the city centre and at undesignated sites in the suburbs over concerns about sanitation, obstruction of walkways and uncollected waste.
For traders who have long complained about being moved on without alternatives, the credibility of the programme will rest on whether the serviced sites, storage and ablution facilities materialise within the 60 days or after them.
Dilapidated buildings pulled into the clean-up
On the same day, Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe directed all local authorities to step up enforcement against owners and occupiers of dilapidated and poorly maintained properties. Authorities have been instructed to issue abatement orders against buildings, boundary walls, pavements, yards and surrounding areas judged unsafe, unsanitary or otherwise unacceptable.
The directive covers shopping centres, business complexes, industrial premises, office blocks, churches and other places of worship, as well as residential properties, and requires owners to repair, renovate, repaint, clean and refurbish to acceptable standards. An abatement order is a legal instruction to remedy specified conditions within a period set by law; failure to comply can attract a fine up to Level Five, imprisonment of up to six months, or both.
Garwe said the deterioration of the built environment — roads, street lighting, shopping complexes, buildings and public spaces — demanded urgent action from both Government and residents. He blamed widespread by-law violations, including trading from undesignated areas and construction carried out without inspections, approvals or proof of ownership.
Planning authorities have also been told to act against illegal and unregulated development using powers under the Regional, Town and Country Planning Act, with enforcement orders to stop, rectify or remedy unlawful works. Contraventions can carry a fine or up to a year in prison.
Pressure is not confined to the capital
The push for cleaner urban environments extends beyond Harare. In Gweru, Mayor Martin Chivhoko urged residents to take responsibility for keeping the city tidy, warning that poor waste management raises the risk of disease outbreaks and environmental damage. In the Senate, questions about the spread of sand poaching and pollution have prompted calls for stiffer sanctions, with concerns that current fines are too small to deter offenders.
What to watch
Three tests will shape how the Harare programme is judged. First, whether the 100 sites are actually connected to water, power and waste collection before enforcement escalates. Second, whether registration is simple and affordable enough for traders who operate on thin daily margins and often lack the paperwork banks demand. Third, whether the abatement orders on run-down buildings are applied consistently across suburbs and landlords rather than only in the most visible parts of town.
For now, the message from Government is clear: the capital is being given a short, fixed window to organise its traders and its streets — and both vendors and property owners are expected to use it.