MOSES MATENGA
The governing party, ZANU-PF and opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) are embroiled in a serious fight to control and collect revenue from traders in Mbare suburb markets with the two parties now accusing each other of violence rocking the area.
Mbare is home to small businesses where huge amounts of cash exchange hands on a daily basis.
Instead of the local authority collecting revenue from traders, youths from the two rival political outfits have taken over the responsibility and that has now become the source of clashes.
ZANU-PF youth league provincial chairman, Emmanuel Mahachi accused CCC elements of violence in Mbare and taking over the collection of revenue.
“Mupedzanhamo was closed and all those who were selling from inside were our members. We have our structures that operate from different markets there and the CCC people were taking money forcefully from them,” Mahachi told Business Times.
He added: “They beat people and they were at some point arrested but they went to court and got bail. We know them.
“They now run terror groups. It is like a militia they are operating. They killed one of our own because he had refused to give them money. We are actually at the funeral now.”
Mbare has been a hotspot for years with initially ZANU-PF controlling the markets through a now defunct terror group then known as Chipangano which was led by Jim Kunaka.
CCC youth provincial secretary, Denford Ngadziore, who is also a councillor and chairperson of the Small to Medium Enterprises committee for the City of Harare said there was no going back on the takeover of Mupedzanhamo and other facilities owned by the local authority.
“No More time for land barons. The land belongs to the city and its high time we take charge,” Ngadziore said.
He added: “We are talking of millions of United States dollars in potential revenue having been lost. You find that Harare is not collected anything from Siyaso since 1997.
“Money has been going to space barons who collect US$450 a day from users. (Harare City Council is also not getting anything ) from the Glenview 8 complex, which was established in 2000. We provide water, roads and everything yet space barons collect US$450 from users. That should and will not happen in my time.”
Ngadziore said the local authority was concluding modalities to re-open the market.
“We will try to bring people who were already there but we (as council) take charge of the processes and collections,” Ngadziore said.
Mupedzanhamo accommodates 1800 traders most of them involved in sale of second-hand clothes while the nearby Shawasha grounds market accommodates over 3500 traders.
Mbare has in the past been a battle ground for ZANU-PF and the opposition with council-owned buildings and markets at the centre of it.
Former ZANU-PF officials including Ministers and Members of Parliament who have either died or were fired from the party including Kunaka who now fronts a new opposition outfit were accused of takeover of revenue collections.
