Staff Writer
National Chairman of the Zimbabwe National Organisation of Associations and Residents Trust (ZNOART), Shepherd Shalvar Chikomba, has welcomed the Government’s planned clean-up operation targeting illegal vending and informal trading in Harare and other urban centres, but called for humane enforcement and the provision of adequate alternative trading spaces.
In a statement, Chikomba said ZNOART supported efforts to restore order and cleanliness in Zimbabwe’s cities and towns, but warned that clean-up operations should not simply displace informal traders without providing sustainable alternatives.
“We support clean cities, orderly communities and the enforcement of municipal by-laws, but enforcement must be accompanied by adequate, accessible, affordable and properly planned alternative trading spaces,” Chikomba said.
He said many vendors were residents, including parents, young people and women, who were trying to earn a living under difficult economic circumstances.
Chikomba urged local authorities to identify and develop designated vending markets, provide basic infrastructure and establish transparent and affordable systems for allocating trading spaces.
He also called for consultations involving vendors, residents and other stakeholders before relocation programmes are implemented.
According to Chikomba, residents’ associations, cooperatives and community organisations could also partner with local authorities and the private sector in developing modern community markets.
“Residents should not only be treated as recipients of municipal services. Residents can also be partners in developing solutions,” he said.
Formal businesses also need protection
Chikomba acknowledged concerns raised by formal businesses that comply with tax, licensing, rental and other statutory obligations while competing with informal traders operating outside their premises.
“There must therefore be a balance between protecting livelihoods and protecting compliant businesses,” he said.
“The solution is not to criminalise poverty. The solution is to establish an orderly system in which everyone understands where, when and how they are legally permitted to trade.”
Call for modern bus ranks
Chikomba also called for the urgent renovation and modernisation of bus ranks in Harare and other urban centres.
He said bus ranks should provide adequate passenger facilities, sanitation, lighting, security, drainage, waste management and organised transport operations.
“Bus ranks should not remain neglected public spaces. They should become modern, clean, safe and economically productive transport hubs,” Chikomba said.
Zimbabwe urged to embrace smart cities
Chikomba said Zimbabwe should embrace technology and innovation in urban management, particularly in service delivery, public safety, waste management, transport, revenue collection and accountability.
He cited Rwanda as an example from which Zimbabwe could draw lessons in urban cleanliness and management, while stressing that Zimbabwe should develop solutions suited to its own circumstances.
“Our cities must move towards a culture where cleanliness, order, technology, responsible citizenship and sustainable economic activity work together,” he said.
Clean-up operations must be humane and lawful
While supporting enforcement of municipal by-laws, Chikomba said clean-up operations should be conducted in a lawful, humane, transparent and dignified manner.
He called for adequate notice, consultation and access to designated trading spaces for vendors required to relocate.
“Order and enforcement should go hand in hand with livelihood protection, economic empowerment and community participation,” he said.
Chikomba said the objective should not simply be to remove people from the streets, but to create cleaner, safer, better-planned, technologically enabled and economically productive cities and towns.
He said ZNOART was ready to work with Government, local authorities, residents’ associations, vendors, formal businesses, transport operators and private-sector partners to develop sustainable solutions to urban challenges.
ZNOART also called for greater public participation in waste management, including the promotion of waste separation at source and responsible waste disposal.
Chikomba said every household, business, vendor and institution had a role to play in keeping urban areas clean and orderly.
He said the planned clean-up operation provided an opportunity for authorities to establish a sustainable and properly regulated informal trading system while protecting the livelihoods of residents.
“Clean cities, orderly communities and sustainable livelihoods must go hand in hand.”