Harare- St Mary’s Constituency Member of Parliament, Hon. Brighton Mazhindu, has expressed deep concern over the demolition of market stalls by local authorities in Harare Metropolitan Province without suitable alternative trading places being provided first.

In a press statement released on 21 September 2026, Mazhindu said many residents in St Mary’s rely on informal trading to support their families.

The loss of a stall, he warned, can mean the loss of income needed for food, rent, council rates and children’s school fees. He also noted that some families are trying to rebuild their lives after returning from South Africa amid anti-migrant hostility.

“I call on local authorities to pause demolitions wherever affected vendors have no alternative place to trade,” Mazhindu said.

“Councils should engage vendors, conduct a headcount and identify suitable, clearly marked market spaces with basic services. Vendors should then be relocated through a fair and transparent process, with modest, affordable trading fees.”

He emphasised that councils have a responsibility to manage public spaces, but also a responsibility to consider the livelihoods of the people who depend on them.

“I urge the authorities to publish a practical relocation plan and engage affected communities before any further stalls are removed,” he said.

Mazhindu’s statement comes amid a latest notice by Chitungwiza Municipality instructing residents to demolish their own structures. According to a notice issued by the municipality’s Acting Town Clerk, Japson Nemuseso, all vendors and informal traders operating in undesignated areas, including road servitudes, were required to vacate by 17 September 2026, and all illegal structures, temporary stalls and tables must be removed immediately.

“Failure to comply will leave council with no option but to take action without further notice with the assistance of law enforcement agencies,” the notice warned.

Those requiring legal trading premises were directed to register with the Department of Education, Assets, Housing and Community Services.

The demolitions follow a nationwide directive from Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe, who issued a 9 September deadline for illegal vendors in Harare Central Business District and Metropolitan Province, with the clean-up operation subsequently extended to all 92 local authorities across the country.

The demolitions come against the backdrop of Zimbabwe’s persistently large informal economy.

According to ZimStat and International Labour Organization data, between 70 and 85 per cent of employment in the country is informal.

Opposition parties and trade unions have criticised the government’s enforcement against vendors amid an economic crisis, arguing that many traders are former formal-sector workers who lost their jobs when factories closed.

The Chitungwiza Residents Trust (CHITREST) has previously sued Chitungwiza Municipality over similar demolitions, accusing it of violating court orders.

In 2025, Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Court upheld a High Court ruling declaring certain local authority by-laws unconstitutional for permitting the demolition of homes without court authorisation.

Mazhindu did not directly reference the Constitutional Court ruling in his statement, but stressed that councils have “a responsibility to consider the livelihoods of the people who depend on them,” and called for engagement with affected communities before any further stalls are removed.

At the time of publication, neither Chitungwiza Municipality nor Harare City Council had responded to Mazhindu’s statement.