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Minister Chikukwa

Innocent Ruwende Senior Reporter
Government will not be deterred by individuals and organisations that are trying to politicise the current blitz to rid the city of illegal vendors and pirate taxis, Minister of State for Harare Provincial Affairs Miriam Chikukwa has said. Speaking during a tour of the city with Joint Operations Command (JOC) members and Harare City Council officials, Minister Chikukwa warned police officers who either own or operate pirate taxis that they, too, will not be spared.

“We are happy with the situation we are seeing on the ground. Vendors are heeding the call. I was disturbed by reports from one of the mushikashika’s that it belonged to members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police. If it is true, I urge them to remove the pirate taxis because they are said to operate without any fear of traffic enforcement. I have told the police officers that I was moving around to get rid of the taxis. I was told that some of them ply the Morris Depot route. We cannot send police to clean up when they are part of the menace,” she said. Minister Chikukwa said she would visit some of the new sites from which vendors were operating to ensure they have proper facilities.

“I was also told by other vendors that they registered with council last year, but the city was asking them to register again, although they were issued with cards. Some council employees are taking advantage of the exercise to chase vendors from the stands they were allocated. The city should not do that. If they absconded from paying for the stalls, the city should just ask them to pay. Next week we will tour the places where the vendors were relocated to check if there are ablution blocks,” she said.

Council, she said, should ensure there were proper facilities for vendors. She thanked residents for complying with last week’s directive. There is still need to restore the glitter and glamour of First Street Mall, as it has deteriorated to the extent that it now resembles Market Square bus terminus or Mbare Musika, said Minister Chikukwa.

The city’s corporate communications manager Mr Michael Chideme said Harare will deal with vendors who had the habit of invading the city in the evening. We are a 24-hour city. We are regrouping our enforcement to be 24 hours, so enforcement will be there for 24 hours,” he said. The crackdown follows Government’s directive on Wednesday last week for illegal vendors to be moved to designated sites, while pirate taxis are taken off the streets.