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Municipal Reporter

There was a bit of order in Harare Central Business District yesterday as law enforcement agents intensified a blitz against illegal foreign currency dealers, vendors, touts, and drivers of pirate kombis.

Some Point-of-Sale machines used by illegal dealers were confiscated by the law enforcement agents while vehicles used as pirate taxis were impounded.

During the blitz being undertaken by police and municipal cops, there was an improved human and vehicular flow in the capital’s city centre.

The better part of the day was orderly, although the illegal forex dealers had devised new ways of operating from their cars.

Drivers of pirate taxis were dropping people at the perimeters of the city centre in the morning, avoiding coming close to ranks, with those from Warren Park, for example, offloading people at Zimbabwe Electoral Commission offices on the corner of Gamal Abdel Nasser Road.

Pirate taxis drivers spent the day engaging in cat and mouse chases with the law enforcement agents.

Greater Harare Association of Commuter Operators (GHACO) chairman Mr Ngoni Katsvairo said the operation was good.

His organisation is one of the two main ones legal kombis operate under.

Mr Katsvairo said besides making the roads trafficable and decongesting the city centre, it also forced passengers to use designated ranks, thereby making movement and release of vehicles from ranks easier.

“Our only appeal is that our kombis with operating papers must be spared from impounds where they are being detained by ZRP for up to six days for even a minor offence for which they are supposed to pay up to level three fines,” he said.

“Driver’s offences must be dealt with as such and fined as such rather than to impound the whole kombi for five days. We are engaging police and council on this so that we encourage more operators to value compliance.”

Posting on microblogging site Twitter, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Permanent Secretary Nick Mangwana said some assets had since been seized.

“Police have launched an operation targeting illegal foreign currency dealers who are so daring to the extent of displaying Point of Sale machines,” he said.

“Police have so far retrieved 11 POS machines which are the property of NMB and Steward banks.”