malvernmugadzikwa
Theresa Mhazo
Once referred to as the “Sunshine City”, not only because the sun shines in most days of the year, but because of its cleanliness and orderliness- Harare has lost its glamour and beauty.
The sun still shines in Harare but the beauty and orderliness have long disappeared especially in the Central business district (CBD).
A city centre, which at one point was a mix of the old and new, with fluorescent office blocks soaring over 100-year-old buildings is now but a city centre with abandoned and dilapidated office blocks and nothing new.
The former epitome of CBD beauty, First Street, is now a pale shadow of its former glorious self.
The street, which used to have water fountains, expensive boutiques, well maintained pavements has now been taken over by illegal foreign currency traders, vendors, dying trees and with no existence of flowers at all.
Vending, which used to be confined to designated market stalls at bus termini, has taken over Harare’s CBD. The trade has “grown” from vegetables only to anything one can ever imagine.
Traditional herbs, clothing, groceries, books, mobile phones and accessories, pesticides, drinks, food have all found their way on undesignated areas in the city centre.
The vendors have become innovative and aggressive that they now bring braai stands into the CBD to roast maize and meat, while others are now into fast food business — cooking and serving food stuffs right in the heart of the city, oblivious to the health challenges.
Others have resorted to technology to lure customers with pre-recorded messages playing on speakers, creating noise pollution in front of office buildings.
Due to these conditions, property owners have bemoaned high voids and low rental income in the CBD as businesses move to more cosy environments where there is enough parking space, less noise and less traffic congestion and touts.
Businesses are also avoiding the menace of illegal transport operators popularly known as “mishika shika” in addition to old infrastructure that no longer cope with the growing population.
Responding to questions at a recent ZimReal seminar, University of Zimbabwe senior lecturer, Audrey Kwangwama, said the situation was dire as buildings did not have elevators while water supplies were also erratic forcing unscrupulous people to turn to trees as their “rest rooms.”
She highlighted how toilets are creating a strong stench due to lack of water with individuals unwilling to use the bucket system.
“Imagine carrying a bucket of water to a rest room upstairs. Sanitary lanes are being used as toilets in the CBD and city of Harare cannot deal with this alone,” she added.
Clothing retailer — Edgars Stores Zimbabwe chief executive officer, Tjeludo Ndlovu, highlighted how business was now skewed towards office parks and suburban shopping malls as customers are also shying away from the rot in the CBD. As a result, businesses were incurring costs in attempting to maintain their premises.
“The window shopping experience with families in the CBD is gone, you may get attacked by touts. For us, the sanitary lanes are full of potholes which cause delays in delivery of stock.
“Taps are dry and we have to order water which should be delivered through those unsanitary sanitary lanes. Deliveries now come at night when there is less congestion, but this means we have to pay overtime to our stuff to receive the materials,” she said.
What used to be a place for relaxation and picnics —The Harare Gardens — has become a den of thugs, while homeless people harass people demanding food and money.
The infrastructure lacks manicuring as no attention is paid to it at all. People have been labelling it as the “Death of a gem” as weddings at one point used to take place
there.
With the promises made to restore the “Sunshine City” status by 2025, Zimbabweans eagerly await to see if their beloved capital will become a shining gem again in the remaining three years.
Harare City’s engineer, Norman Karidza, said the city was cognisant of the concerns being raised by businesses over what has been termed “urban decay”.
He highlighted the city was resource constrained to fund the rejuvenation programmes and therefore was looking for partners.
“We want to reach out to potential investors for partnerships of funding. City of Harare is now incapable of funding themselves,” he said in a recent interview.
With the promises made to restore the “Sunshine City” status by 2025, Zimbabweans eagerly await to see if their capital will become a shining gem again in the remaining three years.
Bongani Ndlovu