IT’S A MESS

the purpose of advertising which noise causes annoyance or disturbance in the neighbourhood . . . ,” reads part of the Act. Intervention

Local Government and Public Works Deputy Minister Dr Marian Chombo notes the need for immediate restoration of sanity in CBDs. “We have something in the pipeline to ensure that there are more designated sites for informal traders.

“However, the issue of liquor stores is a huge concern considering our current predicament, in light of drug and substance abuse,” said Dr Chombo.

“This will be dealt with in a holistic approach because it is everyone’s headache. We should be our own watchdogs, so let us not allow this rot to escalate.”

The Zimbabwe Republic Police said it was working in partnership with relevant departments to bring order in the country.

“There are rogue elements who have a habit of defying authority but the law will always catch up with them. We do not give any preferential treatment to offenders,” said the police spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi.

“A number of them have faced the law, with some appearing in courts, depending on the offence.”

National Vendors Union of Zimbabwe chairperson Stan Zvorwadza blames the Harare City Council for the chaos.

With the majority of Zimbabweans operating in the informal sector, he said, structures that cater for this group should be built on council land.

“Harare City Council should fix this mess because it is worsening by the day. They should find alternative spaces for these informal traders.

“It is unfair to just chase them away without plan B. These people are breadwinners, who need to feed their families,” said Zvorwadza.

He added that churches operating in the

should be allocated stands elsewhere. “The authorities need to look at the root cause of these issues to come up with lasting solutions that are favourable to both parties.

“The mandate of the city council is to create markets for these traders and protect them. At some point, we got a potential investor who wanted to invest in a stateof-the-art market and we approached the local authority but they turned the investor down,” he revealed.

“Why do they refuse to accommodate investors or to take ideas from stakeholders? Something is not right here.”

Harare Residents Trust director Precious Shumba said he was more concerned about liquor stores that are sprouting all over the city.

“These (illegal liquor stores) are fuelling cases of drug and substance abuse. In my view, I think the illegal liquor dealers are worse than vendors operating in undesignated areas in the quest to feed their families. The authorities need to engage stakeholders and come up with lasting solutions,” said Shumba.