What exactly are the vendors’ tears watering?

Local Government Minister, Daniel Garwe is leading the ongoing clean-up exercise with military precision.

Now joined by the combative Permanent Secretary, Engineer Tafadzwa Muguti, it has now been made clear that it is no longer business as usual and the war against vendors is real.

Last Saturday, Garwe led the operation in the Avenues area and he left a trail of tears and destruction.

He was in a no-nonsense mood and never blinked in making his point clear, leave the streets now and destroy everything “illegal.”

Liquor stores were closed forcefully, structures were destroyed by the militant municipal police led by Mayor Jacob Mafume, famed as Harare 1, the metropolis’ first citizen whose rank in the municipal force is that of the Commander-in-Chief at national level.

He, just like Garwe, was in a war-like mood.

The enforcers never cared even when authentic council documents and permits were flashed by would be victims.

They ordered destruction of everything they regarded filth on sight and they did it in a manner intimidating to victims.

“Show us your permit now. Close this shop immediately or else we will take action,” Garwe bellowed authoritatively to a young female supervisor at the Tree House Bar and Grill.

The young supervisor was given no time to formulate a response, clearly overwhelmed by the authority before her.

What she could only do was call the owner and in no time, he showed up and confirmed all was in order.

The City of Harare had given him the green light to operate, papers in hand.

“But who authorized a restaurant and bar in an area that is supposed to be residential?” Garwe asked as he turned to the Mayor for response.

The Mayor turned to Director of Housing Admore Nhekairo to respond and Nhekairo, having no one else to turn to, shifted responsibility to the Director of Health, Dr Prosper Chonzi, who was not present.

“This falls under the Health department led by Dr Chonzi,” Nhekairo said.

From the Tree House Bar and Grill where they left benches destroyed and shops closed, the team went straight to destroy banners at the Dream World Exclusive Barber Shop without even checking on compliance.

Investigations by the news team later revealed the facility was certified for operations by council.

Why close down certified businesses?

Observers have questioned why the government is punishing innocent businesses while walking with city of Harare officials responsible for the mess.

Information at hand shows that Harare has 947 licensed vendors operating in CBD and the multi-million-dollar question is why bully everyone, those licensed ones included?

Thirty thousand are operating illegally.

Can Garwe and Mafume succeed where Sanyatwe and Chombo failed?

There hasn’t been a lasting solution to the vending crisis and it’s not a new phenomenon. Even the military tried to stop it in 2015 but failed dismally.

The question therefore is can Garwe and Mafume succeed where the feared army’s Presidential Guard then under the Command of then Brigadier General Anselem Sanyatwe, now Sports Minister, failed.

In 2015, Sanyatwe addressed a press conference jointly with Chombo where they warned of dire consequences if the vendors resist the move. Eleven years later, the vendors are still in the capital.

And despite a spirited campaign by Garwe this time, a snap survey by Business Times in the city today shows that vendors are back and defiant.

They were seen preparing their “offices” and packing neatly their wares as vending is the only job they have.

The same was happening on different streets, an indication the vendors are not ready to die of hunger, damn the consequences.

Residents feel this is an exercise in futility

Precious Shumba of the Harare Residents Trust feels the exercise is a declaration of war against poverty-stricken vendors and is unfair to implement especially where the government has failed to provide alternatives.

“Vendors have been consulted, the residents have not been consulted and if it is about orderliness it must not be forced. People must cooperate with the government and have respect for the government but the government has a duty to respect the residents and not bully them,” he said.

In 2015, the Cabinet directed local authorities to remove all vendors in the city centre and demolish all illegal structures in the country’s cities and rural areas, in what observers said could be a repeat of Operation Murambatsvina.

In circular dated June 2, 2015 and signed by then Local Government secretary George Mlilo, Cabinet made the decision to launch another clean-up campaign after noting the rapid increase in illegal vending, and sprouting of illegal urban and rural settlements.

The circular described the mushrooming of vendors as “invasion” of central business areas by unregistered vendors which was “unacceptable” as it affected formal businesses and outlook of cities and towns.

This is what is happening now and again, the question is, will the government succeed where they failed in 2015 and other years.

The operation also involved JOC members, but it failed.

“It failed largely because the local authorities failed to avail proper sites for legal vending and desperate vendors who are in the informal trade because they don’t have jobs,” a senior council official said.

“The issue with vendors is as long as there are no jobs, we can’t define a proper solution now. Jobs first,” the official said.

From Murambatsvina (2005) failures to date, vendors have refused to go

In 2005, the government launched a clean-up exercise dubbed Operation Murambatsvina that saw a wide-ranging demolition of the informal sector infrastructure on 19 May 2005.

The exercise received worldwide condemnation with the United Nations condemning the move to destroy urban slums and market stalls describing it as a “disastrous venture”, and demanded that those responsible are punished.

Years after this clean up exercise, illegal settlements resurfaced and are still here up to now.

In comes the US$12mn saga

Shumba claims vendors were directed to pay US$10 for registration and over 1.2mn paid.

This translates to US$12mn.

“Vendors paid US$10 to register to the City of Harare. An estimated 1,2 million vendors paid to register. The Council promised to build decent and modern infrastructure for their informal trading. This has not happened,” he said while demanding an explanation from authorities.

Questions remain, what happened to the money and what happened to the vending sites council had promised at the Coventry Holding Bay, City Sports Centre Open Space, Coca Cola and other areas.

As it stands, there is no proper vending site created by the City of Harare in the CBD and this should excite the government to deal with failures by the local government.

Finally, don’t abuse vendors for political gain and dump them

A circulating video shows Garwe fiercely defending vendors ahead of a by-election where he was campaigning for a Zanu PF candidate.

“Don’t touch our vendors. They are contributing to economic development and are taking care of their children,” Garwe said then to an ecstatic crowd before chanting the 2030 slogan.

What has changed now?