Harare’s informal traders have been handed a 60-day window to move into the regulated economy under a government programme that pairs an amnesty for unlicensed vendors with a renewed push to clear, clean and manage the capital’s streets.
The measures were announced by Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Zhemu Soda at a post-Cabinet media briefing in Harare, and will be rolled out jointly with the City of Harare and other stakeholders.
Four pillars for a new vending order
Soda said Cabinet had approved a package anchored on four pillars — Legislate, Provide, Formalise and Enforce — aimed at ending illegal vending while offering traders lawful and dignified alternatives.
Central to the plan is infrastructure. About 100 identified vending sites in Harare’s suburbs are to be serviced with potable water, ablution facilities, lighting, shelter, waste management and storage. A new modern satellite market is also to be developed on the periphery of the central business district, easing pressure on the CBD core.
Under the arrangement, registered vendors will be linked to financial institutions to access working capital — a longstanding complaint among small traders who lack the collateral and paperwork that banks demand.
A Harare Vendors Council is to be established to co-manage trading sites and handle disputes, while a CBD Urban Management Command chaired by the City of Harare will oversee what officials describe as a Clear, Clean, Keep approach to the city centre.
The 60-day one-stop formalisation drive in Harare will be accompanied by a 30-day amnesty for vendors operating in other parts of the country, after which enforcement is expected to tighten.
Enforcement already under way
The announcement follows the launch of a crackdown on illegal vending in central Harare and at undesignated sites in the suburbs, after a seven-day ultimatum was issued to traders. The operation, code-named Chenesa Harare Final, responds to complaints about illegal vending, poor sanitation and walkways blocked by merchandise.
The government’s argument is that the informal economy has outgrown the spaces designed for it. The Bulawayo Projects Centre has said the informal sector is now Zimbabwe’s largest employer, yet policy and financing mechanisms have not kept pace with its role in sustaining households — a gap that has left traders exposed to both enforcement and economic shocks.
Dilapidated buildings in the crosshairs
The clean-up push extends beyond street trading. The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works has ordered all local authorities to intensify enforcement against owners of dilapidated and poorly maintained properties, and to issue abatement orders against buildings and premises deemed unsafe, unsanitary or otherwise unacceptable.
Speaking at a press conference in Harare on the same day, Minister Daniel Garwe said the deterioration of the built environment — roads, lighting, shopping complexes, buildings and public spaces — demanded urgent action from both government and citizens. He blamed widespread by-law violations, including trading from undesignated areas and construction carried out without inspections, approvals or proof of ownership.
The directive covers shopping centres, business complexes, industrial properties, office buildings, churches and other places of worship, as well as residential premises. Owners of properties served with abatement orders will be required to carry out repairs, renovations, repainting, cleaning and refurbishment to bring them up to acceptable standards.
Failure to comply can attract a fine up to Level Five, imprisonment of up to six months, or both. Planning authorities have also been told to use powers under the Regional, Town and Country Planning Act, including sections 32 to 34, to act against unauthorised developments and unlawful building works, with contraventions potentially drawing a fine or up to a year in prison.
What happens next
Much now depends on delivery. The 60-day clock has started, and the credibility of the exercise will rest on whether the promised water points, ablution blocks, shelters and market space materialise quickly enough for traders to relocate without losing their livelihoods.
Council officials will also face pressure to show that the Clear, Clean, Keep programme and the abatement orders survive beyond the first wave of enforcement, in a city where infrastructure promises have often outrun delivery.
