Mayor Mafume promises another pie in the sky

HARARE residents must have felt a strange sense of déjà vu last week after Mayor Jacob Mafume once again promised to clear First Street of illegal vendors.

Even for the hopelessly optimistic, this was an outlandish promise, especially considering that the city council has nonchalantly watched the problem grow over the years.

The once-grand First Street has become a maze of makeshift stalls, with enterprising vendors hawking all manner of wares.

Responding to a concerned resident on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), Mayor Mafume retorted: “First Street will be cleared soon; we cannot have this for these areas.”

Of course, many saw the promise for what it was — a pie in the sky.

One wonders where Mayor Mafume has been for the past, well, forever.

The city council has proved unable to deal with illegal vending.

All the sidewalks, particularly in the central business district, have been surrendered to noisy and daring vendors.

But we have come to realise that most of Mayor Mafume’s promises do not come to pass.

Residents will recall that a couple of years ago, he promised to clear clogged drains to prevent flash floods on city roads — a vow that never materialised.

Surely, the people of Harare deserve better. They pay rates expecting basic services in return. Clearing the First Street Mall and, indeed, all pavements of illegal vending cannot be an incredibly difficult task.

But this is what ratepayers have been getting since the opposition began to run the capital.

They are promised heaven but given hell.

This has to stop.