Online Reporter
Nyore Madzianike and Trust Freddy
GOVERNMENT has reiterated the ban on second-hand clothes and has directed the City of Harare to work with law enforcement agencies in ensuring that there is no street and night vending.
This was said by Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe at an interactive meeting held yesterday between Harare City councillors and officials from his office at Town House.
He was accompanied by his two deputies, Benjamin Kabikira and Albert Mavunga.
Minister Garwe said the proliferation of street and night vending has destroyed formal businesses, especially those that have been loyally paying rentals and bills to local authorities.
“Night vending has brought with it illicit drug and substance dealings, which is a threat to health, economy and national security,” he said.
“Let me take this opportunity to advise that the Government has banned the importation and selling of second-hand clothing and consequently street and night vending activities are equally banned.
“City of Harare is therefore directed to work with the law enforcement authorities in ensuring that there is no further street and night vending. The time to act is now, not later.”
Some roads and pavements are difficult to navigate both during the day and at night, as vendors block them with either their wares such as fruits, vegetables, groceries and pushcarts.
Motorists and pedestrians have previously complained that the activities of vendors inconvenience them.
Formal shops have also expressed concern that vendors are taking some of their customers, taking advantage of lower prices since most of their goods are smuggled and would not have paid any statutory fees.
Turning to the privatisation of service delivery within local authorities, Minister Garwe said the move is not meant to muscle out or erode councils’ mandate of service delivery, but is intended to complement and enhance efforts already undertaken by councils.
Councils, must therefore, embrace the initiatives and continue to strengthen focus on all service delivery categories, as the nation pushes forward towards Vision 2030 of an empowered upper-middle-income society.
In Harare, the solid waste management sector was privatised through a public-private partnership between the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, City of Harare and Geo Pomona Waste Management Company.
The water supply management saw a partnership involving the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, City of Harare and Helcraw Water and Liaison Technologies.
Minister Garwe said these partnerships demonstrated considerable progress in addressing solid waste and water management in Harare.
“In light of that, I would therefore want to encourage Harare City Councillors and management to ensure that, all our initiatives, our policies, our by-laws, and the resolutions be reflective of our promise of becoming an upper-middle-income society, empowering not just the elite but all citizens,” he said.
Minister Garwe drew the councillors’ attention to the Minimum Service Delivery Standards blueprint, which was launched by President Mnangagwa on June 23 this year.
He said the standards enunciated in the blueprint are designed to ensure that services provided by local authorities meet world-class benchmarks and best practices.
The Minimum Service Delivery Standards encompass eight categories namely water supply, sanitation management, solid waste management, roads and public lighting, environmental stewardship, housing and community services, corporate governance, and public health.
Minister Garwe emphasised the importance of effective water supply management, saying it is non-negotiable that it be clean, safe and available to all residents.
“To complement the efforts that the council has been making in service delivery, we have recently witnessed the privatisation of solid waste management and water supply management value chain in the city, prompted by Cabinet resolutions to privatise certain service delivery categories.
“In the solid waste management sector, privatisation has led to the establishment of a public-private partnership among the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, City of Harare and Geo Pomona Waste Management.
“I am sure you would all agree that this partnership has demonstrated considerable progress in addressing solid waste management in Harare.
“Notably, Geo Pomona has successfully cleared illegal dumps that have plagued our suburbs, and since June, they have also commenced door-to-door waste collection,” he said.
Minister Garwe said they anticipate greater outcomes from this partnership in the near future.
He also implored the Harare Council to tackle the rampant traffic congestion in the Central Business District.
Council was called upon to invoke and rigorously enforce existing by-laws in order to restore order and improve traffic management.
The local authority was also challenged to prepare for the impending rainy season, to avoid flash floods in the CBD and suburbs, and to curb potential disease outbreaks.
Harare mayor Councillor Jacob Mafume commended the Second Republic for pledging to support all councillors, regardless of their political affiliation, in the development of the city.
“Under the second dispensation, we are getting that cooperation under the guidance of His Excellency, President Mnangagwa, a lot of initiatives have been started in water, in waste management, in sewer, in roads and street lights,” he said.
“So, what we wanted is for the Minister to understand and the Government to understand the things that we need to do in terms of service delivery.
“Our expectation is that we will start moving faster to make sure that we assist the people of Harare to be able to get smooth service delivery in their key pain points.”
Clr Mafume said preparatory works for the water meter project were already underway.
“The water meter project is now on the ground. The agreements have been put in place. The infrastructure in terms of working together is now there.
“The first vehicles will be launched very soon. Some of the works will start in the next few weeks. We will have the water meters, already being manufactured in China and they will be brought down here.
“So, by the end of the year, we should see significant improvements in terms of the water billing and water availability and the quality of the water itself because we are going to undertake some major works on Morton Jaffray Water Works.
