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Innocent Ruwende Senior Reporter
Harare City Council will today start auditing all premises in the central business district (CBD) for business licences with non-compliant businesses facing immediate closure.

The exercise will progressively extend to all suburban business centres and business premises in residential areas with fire compliance inspections being done concurrently.

In a statement yesterday, the city said: “Business and office operators in the central business district are advised that beginning tomorrow (April 9) council will be auditing all premises for business licences. Non-compliant businesses face immediate closure. Ample notice has been given to all operators.

“Payment of business licences allows the city to fund its service delivery mandate. All payments should be done at council’s revenue offices. No payment should be done to the officers carrying out the audit. All council revenue offices will be open to attend to payment issues.”

Harare City Council is worried about fake business licences that have flooded the city as most shops are not adhering to their agreements with the local authority.

An audit conducted in 2017 showed that over 2 000 businesses in the city centre had been operating illegally.

The Audit Committee expressed concern over business premises which had licences even though they did not meet the requirements, examples were Joy Centre at Machipisa where over 500 people patronised but had just one toilet.

“It was the committee’s view that most businesses had fake licences hence it would be prudent if the relevant licensing officer could put their names on the licences so that it would be easy to verify if it is authentic or not,” read committee minutes.

The problems of fake licensing and dubious businesses started after a temporary waiver was gazetted whereby shops were not obliged to advertise their businesses in the local newspapers.

Harare City Council recently referred to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) cases of suppliers and council workers involved in scams on overpayment, fake quotations and quotations with common authorship, among other methods used in fleecing the local authority of thousands of dollars.

Acting chamber secretary Mr Charles Kandemiri told the Audit Committee that council had handed over the matter involving the alleged acts of misconduct by council employees and suppliers to ZACC for investigation in terms of Section 72(5) of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (Chapter 22:23).