Harare- In a decisive address delivered at Town House, Local Government and Public Works Minister, Daniel Garwe, has issued a stern ultimatum to all illegal vendors operating in the Harare Central Business District (CBD), declaring that the current state of disorder is “no longer acceptable” and that “it is no longer business as usual.”

The Minister’s address comes as the government sets a final deadline of September 9 for all informal traders to vacate undesignated spaces and relocate to lawful, designated markets. From that date, a comprehensive, zero-tolerance clean-up operation will be launched, with municipal police deployed to prevent a return to the streets.

Clear Message to Vendors

While acknowledging that vending provides livelihoods for thousands of Zimbabweans and recognising the economic circumstances that have driven many into the informal sector, Minister Garwe delivered a clear and direct message to traders: the right to earn a living cannot be exercised at the expense of others’ rights to a safe, clean, and functional city.

“The city belongs to all of us,” Garwe stated. “Your right to trade must coexist with another person’s right to walk safely, another person’s right to operate a business, and every citizen’s right to a clean and healthy environment.”

The Minister emphasised that the crackdown is not a declaration of war against vendors but rather a desire to bring back orderliness in pursuit of the Vision 2030 Agenda. He called on vendor associations to become part of the solution by mobilising members to comply with regulations and utilise designated facilities.

Background of Vendors’ Challenges

The ultimatum comes amidst long-standing tensions between informal traders and city authorities in Harare. The informal economy has become the country’s largest employer, absorbing thousands of jobless citizens due to a struggling economy.

Vendors and their representatives, including the Zimbabwe National Vendors Association (ZINAVA) and the Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (VISET), have consistently raised concerns about the practicality of relocations. At the newly constructed Mbare Musika Market, traders face a US$150 deposit, US$50 weekly rent, US$1 per toilet visit, and US$240 monthly parking fees, costs described by VISET as out of reach and driving vendors back to the streets.

Spatial formalisation in Harare has been characterised by top-down decision-making, with street traders perceiving the approach as a strategy of containment rather than genuine economic integration. Access to formal trading spaces often requires political connections, disadvantaging those without such capital and perpetuating the cycle of street trading.

Vendors operating illegally have been forced to cook with gas cylinders in crowded public spaces, creating fire and health hazards. Open defaecation, uncollected waste, and lack of clean water and ablution facilities have raised public health concerns, with experts warning of potential disease outbreaks. Previous clean-up operations have been temporary, with vendors returning days later, a pattern attributed to both economic pressures and, some critics argue, corruption among officials.

New Infrastructure, Same Problems

The Minister highlighted a particular concern: newly constructed infrastructure like the Trabablas Interchange is increasingly becoming congested as people move in to trade in spaces that were not designed or designated for vending. Garwe questioned, “If every piece of infrastructure we construct immediately becomes an informal marketplace, what kind of city are we building?”

Similarly, facilities like the New Market in Mbare and designated bays in Mabvuku and Borrowdale have become white elephants while vending continues on pavements and road reserves, a situation Garwe described as a failure not merely of infrastructure, but of management, coordination and collective responsibility.

Call for Whole-of-Society Approach

Minister Garwe called on all stakeholders, including the business community represented by CZI and ZNCC, residents’ associations, and civil society, to take a Whole of Society Approach to restore Harare to its Sunshine City status. He specifically appealed to residents not to buy from illegal trading points out of convenience while simultaneously complaining about congestion and disorder.

“Consumer behaviour influences the shape of our city,” he noted.

For Harare City Council, Garwe demanded accountability for all constructed infrastructure, consistent enforcement, and genuine engagement with communities rather than waiting until problems have become disasters.

Divergent Responses

The directive has drawn mixed reactions. The Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR) has welcomed the crackdown, saying illegal vending has compromised urban cleanliness, obstructed public walkways, and placed compliant formal businesses at an unfair disadvantage.

However, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has urged the government to fix the broken economy first before chasing vendors off the streets, arguing that street vending is a symptom of unemployment caused by bad economic policies.

ZINAVA has also expressed support for orderliness but stressed that councils must identify convenient sites before designating them and ensure designated spaces are affordable and properly equipped with stalls and ablution facilities.