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Last week we carried a sad story about 50 touts at Mbare Musika Bus Terminus who severely assaulted before leaving for dead a policeman who had come to the rescue of a young woman they were harassing.

And even after police sent in reinforcements, the touts are reported to have menacingly advanced on and threatened to beat up the police before being subdued and arrested.

As usual, police issued a stern warning advising touts to desist from taking the law into their own hands.

After that it was business as usual for other touts who went about harassing commuters and terrorising innocent people going about their normal business.

Therein lies a problem with our society where we tend to turn a blind eye to illegality, or leave problems to fester only to wake up when it’s too late.

The touts have no business at the ranks as touting is illegal, but daily they are left to be a nuisance to everybody. The touts are not only foul mouthed, but are disposed to violence to get their way.

They have become a law unto themselves on city streets and terminuses where they charge public transporters for picking up passengers on areas they have declared their fiefdoms.

We urge the Harare Metropolitan Police to step up to the plate and rescue motorists from the self-appointed parking attendants who have parcelled city parking bays between themselves and charge motorists for using the bays, prejudicing the city of thousands of dollars in potential revenue.

It boggles the mind how the City that has engaged Easipark and City Parking can leave the touts to operate freely alongside city attendants.

Motorists are forced to pay the rank marshals lest the self-appointed attendants do something to the car to force compliance and this has inadvertently taken the form of scratching the paint work of deflating the tyres.

Those who demand money from public transporters and the over-grown street adults who have appointed themselves parking attendants are guilty of the same crime, extorting money from the public for what they do not own.

These two groups daily make the lives of road users a living hell.

Ironically, municipal police officers have been content to look the other way instead of ridding the city of these unsavoury individuals.

It is not uncommon to see municipal police officers clamping vehicles without parking discs while leaving touts to their devices.

It appears it has not even dawned on the city fathers that the money being pocketed by these touts and rank marshals who charge US$1 for each load, would go a long way in boosting the city’s revenue.

Apart from being a nuisance to road users, the touts are also hitting the city in the pocket.