By A Correspondent|Tensions are mounting between the government and informal traders in Harare following a September 9 deadline ordering vendors operating from undesignated areas to vacate their trading spaces.

The directive, issued by Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe, has triggered concern among vendors who depend on street trading to survive and fear losing their only source of income.

Garwe announced on Wednesday that traders operating from locations not approved by local authorities had until September 9 to leave voluntarily. Those who remain after the deadline face a government-led operation targeting illegal vending structures and trading sites.

Authorities have warned that the exercise will include the removal of stalls and other structures, while municipal police will be deployed to ensure that traders do not return to areas that have been cleared.

Garwe defended the crackdown as part of the government’s broader plans to impose greater order in urban centres, arguing that informal trading must take place within the law.

“Whilst the government acknowledges the existence of informal trading as a recognised avenue of livelihood, this, however, should be within the bounds of municipal by-laws and at legally designated marketplaces,” Garwe said.

He further described the proliferation of street trading as “disorderliness”, warning that the situation had “become a threat to the health and security of our nation.”

However, vendors have challenged the government’s approach, arguing that the authorities are focusing on removing them from the streets without adequately addressing the economic conditions that have pushed thousands into informal trading.
For many traders, vending is not simply a choice to ignore municipal regulations. It is a means of putting food on the table in an economy where formal employment opportunities remain limited.

The September 9 deadline has therefore raised fears that a large number of families could suddenly be deprived of their daily income, particularly if alternative trading spaces are unavailable, inaccessible or too expensive for struggling traders.

The confrontation has exposed the growing tension between the government’s desire to impose order in urban areas and the desperate economic realities facing informal workers.

While authorities insist that vendors must comply with municipal by-laws, affected traders are demanding practical alternatives that allow them to continue earning a living rather than simply being removed from the streets.

With the deadline fast approaching, attention is now turning to whether the government will find a compromise with vendors or proceed with the promised “zero-tolerance clean-up operation.”