Online Reporter
Sharon Jiyamwa
Online Reporter
GOVERNMENT will commission a technical team on Monday to come up with new modern designs for First Street Mall that are in line with the country’s future aspirations.
Speaking during an assessment tour of the Central Business District (CBD) today, Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe said the planned facelift will replace outdated landscaping, remove unauthorised billboards and upgrade sanitary and service lanes.
“Our architects, our landscape architects, are going to be commissioned on Monday by our technical team to come up with new designs, modern designs that speak to the future of Zimbabwe and the future of First Street (Mall),” he said.
Government will also double down on the enforcement of by-laws regulating advertising and use of public spaces.
Authorities are presently pushing for the adoption of digital advertising infrastructure.
“The installation of billboards all over the verandas is not acceptable in terms of the renewal of the city,” he said.
The facelift of First Street Mall, Minister Garwe said, would be the starting point for a wider renewal programme aimed at transforming other streets in the CBD.
“We want all of us to think futuristically in terms of Vision 2030. What we need to start visualising is what 2030 means. What an upper-middle-income economy looks like,” he said.
Sanitary and service lanes along First Street Mall are also set to be enclosed, with access restricted to companies occupying buildings adjoining service areas.
Minister Garwe said old landscaping would also be replaced with modern finishes, including marble or granite tiles, as part of efforts to improve the street’s aesthetics.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works Engineer Tafadzwa Muguti said First Street Mall was historically known for its aesthetics and was now due for a major renovation.
“We are going to be embarking on a big renovation campaign programme. But as you can see, we have got a lot of lawlessness. Anyone is mounting boards on buildings,” Eng Muguti said.
He cited standards adopted by businesses such as Jet Stores and the Innscor Group as examples of the level of beautification Government expects along the street.
The First Street Mall intervention is part of a wider Government drive to restore order in Harare, including enforcement against vending in undesignated areas and action against dilapidated or poorly maintained properties.
