Council recruits senior cops

Innocent Ruwende Senior Reporter
Harare City Council has beefed up its enforcement department by recruiting four retired senior police officers to supervise its operations in restoring the Sunshine City’s status, as well as making Harare’s roads trafficable. Retired Assistant Commissioner and NMB security manager Mr Negion Majahana Moyo is now the city’s enforcement manager, while Retired Assistant Commissioner Joseph Mandizha will be in charge of traffic enforcement. The city’s corporate communications manager Mr Michael Chideme said two other retired police officers had been given roles in the city’s enforcement.

“We have hired retired police officers, two of them at senior assistant commissioner level. Moyo is now the city enforcement manager, while Mandizha is responsible for traffic enforcement. This brings the much-needed experience to policing in Harare and the weight that we have always wanted. These are retired police officers and they have enough connections within ZRP for them to assist us in the implementation of our blitz against illegal activities in the city,” he said.

Government ordered illegal vendors and pirate taxis operating in the central business district (CBD) to move to designated sites. The proliferation of illegal vending sites, including illegal pick-up and drop-off points by commuter omnibuses and pirate taxis (mushika-shika) in the CBD had resulted in serious problems such as traffic congestion and loss of lives.

Harare last week assumed a refreshing new look as police and council mounted joint operations to rid the CBD of illegal vendors and pirate taxis. Some of the vendors have resurfaced and are fighting running battles with the police and city officials on a daily basis. Mr Chideme urged the vendors to stick to approved trading sites. Trading at undesignated sites is costly, he said. They will lose goods due to confiscation, as well as their time and money.

Illegal occupation of council land for illegal housing settlements, developments of church structures, vending and home industries in undesignated places is on the increase within the area of jurisdiction of the City of Harare. Early this month, President Mugabe deplored the vendor menace and lack of order in the Harare CBD, saying Harare should be the smartest city in the country as the capital. He said vendors operating on the streets should be moved to designated sites to allow for the free flow of human and vehicular traffic in the CBD.