Tendai Makumire
Despite repeated government directives to remove vendors and second-hand clothing traders from Harare’s Central Business District (CBD), informal traders continue to occupy the city’s streets, showing the enduring influence of the informal economy on Zimbabwe’s urban landscape.
Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe yesterday reiterated the ban on second-hand clothes and street vending, directing the City of Harare to collaborate with law enforcement to restore order in the capital. He emphasised that street and night vending was undermining formal businesses and contributing to illicit activities, including the sale of smuggled goods and the proliferation of drug abuse.
“City of Harare is therefore directed to work with law enforcement authorities in ensuring that there is no further street and night vending.
“The time to act is now, not later,” said Minister Garwe during a meeting with councillors and city officials at Town House on Monday.
Yet, a walk through various avenues and streets of the Harare CBD paints a different picture. Pavements remain choked with vendors selling fruits, vegetables, second-hand clothing and groceries, while pushcarts and makeshift stalls continue to block walkways.
Motorists and pedestrians say navigating the CBD has become increasingly difficult, with vendors seemingly unfazed by the eviction threats.
Economic analysts argue that the persistent defiance reflects deeper structural challenges in Zimbabwe’s economy.
Recent data from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) estimates that over 60% of the country’s working population operates in the informal sector, with vending forming a significant portion of urban livelihoods. According to the 2024 First Quarter Labour Force Survey by ZimStat, over 41% of employed Zimbabweans work in the informal non-agricultural sector, while informal employment, including vendors and other unregistered work, accounts for nearly 86% of total employment.
Formal employment opportunities remain scarce and for many urban families, vending is the only reliable source of income.
Any attempt to remove vendors without providing alternative trading spaces or economic opportunities is likely to fail, as we have seen in past clampdowns.
Indeed, this is not the first time the government has issued such directives.
Previous crackdowns and several follow-up operations have largely failed to produce lasting results.
Vendors often return to the streets days or weeks, if not hours, after evictions, citing the need to survive in a challenging economic climate.
Formal businesses in the CBD continue to bear the brunt of the unregulated vending.
Some shop owners have complained that vendors lure away customers by selling untaxed or smuggled products at lower prices.
“We pay rent, rates, and taxes, but we are competing with someone selling the same product outside our door without any overheads,” said a clothing retailer along Robert Mugabe Road.
Harare City Council says it is exploring designated vending sites and private partnerships to restore order, but with Zimbabwe’s urban informal economy deeply entrenched, success may require more than enforcement.
Analysts suggest a long-term solution will depend on creating sustainable economic alternatives, formalising segments of the informal sector and improving urban infrastructure to accommodate micro-enterprises without paralysing city movement.
For now, the CBD remains a bustling hub of informal trading, with government directives doing little to dislodge vendors whose presence speaks to the resilience and necessity of Zimbabwe’s informal economy.
