Online Reporter
Municipal Correspondent
AS part of preparations for the upcoming 25th Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Heads of State and Government Summit, which will be held in Harare on October 22, the Harare City Council is stepping up efforts to spruce up the capital.
Zimbabwe is expected to take over the chairmanship of the regional bloc.
The wider summit programme runs from October 19 to 22, with the COMESA Business Forum scheduled for October 19 to 21.
Harare Mayor Councillor Jacob Mafume said the immediate task was to improve the city’s appearance. He said the work would also include restoring standards that should be maintained long after the summit.
“What we are doing now is, you know, when you make the cake, you need to put icing on it,” he said.
“The icing on the cake is to make our buildings more beautiful, get our environment cleaner, get our vendors organised, get our building owners to spruce up and modernise their buildings.”
The clean-up comes as the city rolls out Operation Chenesa Harare as part of its broader urban regeneration and decongestion programme, which targets illegal vending, congestion and the occupation of public spaces by informal traders.
For years, the central business district (CBD) has struggled with informal trading spilling onto pavements and streets, resulting in congestion, litter and restricted access to shops and other businesses. Cllr Mafume said the clean-up was only one part of the city’s preparations.
Town House is also pushing property owners to improve the appearance and condition of their buildings and surrounding areas, including yards, boundary walls, pavements, access ways and other external works. The directive comes as the Government has ordered local authorities to intensify action against dilapidated and poorly maintained properties.
Cllr Mafume said Harare was not starting from scratch because the capital already had the infrastructure needed to accommodate major regional gatherings.
The city’s physical makeover is also being accompanied by infrastructure developments, including roadworks. Cllr Mafume said the hospitality industry is also expanding, with established hotels upgrading their facilities and increasing capacity, while more medium-range hotels and bed-and-breakfast establishments had entered the market.
“There is a lot of modernisation that is happening in the hotels that we currently have and a number of medium-range hotels have sprouted up together with the Airbnb industry,” Cllr Mafume said.
Improvements in electricity and water supplies, he added, was also aiding the city’s preparedness.
“We now have continuous electricity . . . We are able to provide water consistently . . . We as a city have hosted SADC successfully and now we are hosting COMESA, and I would just say that we should be able to host the African Union. We are ready,” he said.
