Harare’s streets are being reshaped on two fronts at once. As Cabinet rolls out a 60-day formalisation window for informal traders, the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works has ordered every local authority in the country to act against owners of unsafe and deteriorating property — a pairing that puts trading space, by-law enforcement and urban upkeep at the centre of the capital’s agenda.
Four pillars for the capital’s informal economy
Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Zhemu Soda told a post-Cabinet briefing that the administration’s approach to informal vending rests on four pillars: legislate, provide, formalise and enforce. The package is being delivered together with the City of Harare and other stakeholders.
Under the plan, traders will be assisted to register and relocate into designated trading areas while the state speeds up work on vending infrastructure across the capital.
About 100 identified vending sites in Harare’s suburbs are to be serviced with potable water, ablution facilities, lighting, shelter, waste management and storage — amenities that traders’ representatives have long argued were missing from many informal trading points.
Satellite market and a vendors’ council
A modern satellite market is to be developed on the periphery of the central business district to absorb traders who cannot be accommodated in existing bays. A Harare Vendors Council is also to be set up to co-manage sites and handle disputes, while traders who complete formalisation will be linked to financial institutions for working capital.
Oversight of the CBD will fall to an Urban Management Command chaired by the City of Harare, built around a “clear, clean, keep” approach to the city centre.
The announcement follows a clampdown on illegal vending in the CBD and at undesignated sites in the suburbs, carried out under the operation codenamed “Chenesa Harare Final” after a seven-day ultimatum expired. Authorities cited illegal trading, poor sanitation and blocked walkways as the drivers of that operation.
Amnesty beyond the capital
The 60-day window in Harare will be accompanied by a 30-day amnesty for vendors in other parts of the country. Once that period lapses, officials have signalled that enforcement will be applied strictly.
Abatement orders for run-down property
The same week, Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe directed all local authorities to intensify enforcement against owners of dilapidated and poorly maintained properties. Speaking at a press conference in Harare on Thursday, 17 September, he said the decline of the built environment — roads, lighting, shopping complexes, buildings and public spaces — demanded urgent action from both government and residents.
Local authorities are now required to initiate abatement orders against owners and occupiers whose buildings, boundary walls, pavements, yards and surrounding areas are unsafe, unsanitary, dilapidated or otherwise unacceptable. Property owners will be expected to carry out repairs, renovations, repainting, cleaning and refurbishment to bring premises back to acceptable standards.
The directive covers shopping centres, business complexes, industrial premises, office buildings, churches and other places of worship, as well as residential property.
What non-compliance could cost
An abatement order is a legal instruction requiring an owner or occupier to remedy specified conditions within a period set by law. Failure to comply may attract penalties under applicable legislation, including a fine up to Level Five, imprisonment of up to six months, or both.
Garwe also told planning authorities to step up action against illegal and unregulated development, pointing to their powers under the Regional, Town and Country Planning Act [Chapter 29:12], including sections 32 to 34. Where unauthorised building works or unlawful modifications are identified, enforcement orders will require those responsible to stop, rectify or otherwise remedy the breach. Contravening the relevant provisions may draw a fine or up to a year in prison.
By-law breaches blamed for decay
The minister attributed much of the deterioration to widespread violations of by-laws, including trading from undesignated areas and construction carried out without inspections, approvals or, in some cases, proof of ownership.
For Harare’s residents and traders, the two measures converge on the same pavements and the same business districts. Vendors who formalise stand to gain serviced stands and, officials say, access to finance; those who remain in undesignated spots face removal. Landlords and business owners who let their premises slide face legal notices and potential prosecution.
The coming weeks will test whether the capital can deliver the trading space, water points and ablution blocks it has promised within the 60-day timeframe — and whether enforcement lands evenly across traders and property owners alike.
