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bedroom suites at a shop along George Silundika Avenue.
The deafening sound from the woman’s pitchy voice also advertising a concert by a South African gospel group Joyous Celebration is distracting and leaves people in surrounding offices and boardrooms alike peeping through windows.
Complaints from neighbouring businesses do not deter her, as she continues with her marketing strategy, which seems to be attracting customers to their shop.
Just a few metres away, workers are preparing chips and burgers in a small poorly ventilated supermarket.
Because of the poor ventilation, burnt oil used for frying the chips and the moisture stiffen the air as an acrid smell forms in the small room.
Handling of the food is questionable but, alas, those buying seem not to worry – at least for now.
Close to a butchery entrance along Speke Avenue, opposite Town House, a man prepares burgers and hot dogs.
Sliced soggy tomatoes and onions are in a dish while the workstation from which he is preparing the hot dogs is quite filthy.
In several other shops and supermarkets, the hot dog and burger business continues, the conduct of some of the business is worrying.
In other parts of town, illegal public transport ranks continue to pitch all over unsafe places.
Elsewhere, in Harare’s high-density suburb of Budiriro 4, Apostle Tendai Masawi of Action Family International Ministries has come under fire from residents who accuse him of disturbing peace in the neighbourhood.
Masawi has “converted” his parent’s home into a church as he holds all his services in a tent outside. The services are characterised by loud music and sometimes end at midnight, thereby disturbing the peace in the area.
In other residential areas that include Eastlea, Belvedere, Hatfield and Milton Park among many others, most houses have been operating as offices.
It is not unusual to find six out of eight houses in a street converted to commercial use.
It is not clear whether the owners of the houses register the change of use of property to council and if they are paying commercial rates. 
Some may argue that cities are cultural centres where people from various walks of life converge hence there is no room for cry babies who want things done their way.
This coupled with the disorderliness in some parts of the CBD and residential areas has raised questions on the issue of disregard of city bylaws as related to zoning.
Urban planning consultant Mr Percy Toriro said land use zoning distinguishes use of one area to another and generally there are five distinct zones in Harare.
He said these are industrial, commercial, residential, institutional and recreational.
The industrial area is generally where manufacturing occurs and other service related issues. The heavy industry activities include breweries, bone crushing, metal fabrication and other services among many others.
The other use is residential and this can be low density where stand sizes range from 1000 square metres to 4 acres or more and high density where the stands are 300 square metres or less.
He says there is also the recreational zone which provides relaxation of people. This can be parks and can be active or passive recreational.
Active recreational facilities include areas like Waterworld, playgrounds while passive recreational includes places like Mukuvisi Woodlands where people go to enjoy nature.
“Institutional zones are where public uses are located. You will find in there schools, hospitals and prisons.
“The commercial zone is where business takes place. This includes trade, banks shops and hotels,” Mr Toriro explained.
According to Mr Toriro, Harare’s CBD is classified into zones that include the general commercial, office and special offices.
The special offices zones include Samora Machel Avenue which houses many banks.
First Street and areas surrounding it are special shops zones as it caters mostly for departmental stores.
The general commercial zone includes areas like Chinhoyi and Bank Streets and also Leopold Takawira Street.
He said the purpose of zoning is to get compatible uses together.
“We do not want a situation where one person’s business is emitting a lot of smoke while the neighbour is doing something completely different.
“In fact the whole art of land use planning is why someone like myself ends up being called a town planner because this is a person who will harmonise uses so that compatible uses are put together and therefore there is no disharmony and people live conveniently, healthy and socially acceptable. That is the main purpose for zoning,” revealed Mr Toriro.
He added that it is also important to note that in modern day land use planning there is also a shift away from strict zoning.
“Long back you would only find shops at a shopping centre, institutions in an institutional zone and houses in a residential suburb.
“But the movement now is to create integrated land use zones. “The advantage is that they are more vibrant and life in there goes on 24 hours,” he said.
Added Mr Toriro: “When you have a commercial zone like Harare’s CBD, it is actually a dead zone because at night all the people would have left and gone to residential area. As a result some shops close at a certain hour.
“However, people realise that sometimes we need the convenience of shops and everything 24 hours a day and for you to achieve that you want all the uses integrated in one area.” He pointed out that this does
not take away the important aspect of compatibility.
“Even if you move away from strict land use zoning you don’t then get to put an industry next door to a bank.
“It still remains important that when incoming up with land use definitions there is need to consider harmony, convenience, health and social acceptability so that all the facets that make someone’s life are nicely integrated and at the end of the day, the art of land use planning is really about playing around with all those issues to come up with a cocktail that is acceptable and functional,” he added.
Mr Toriro said the emergence of shopping malls in residential areas is a new phenomenon coming out for the need of convenience.
“If someone is staying in Budiriro do they need to commute to the CBD every time or have Highglen shopping centre close.
“Even where we are calling for this new planning paradigm we still need to consider the fundamentals that promote good health, convenience social acceptability and compatibility. “These factors must continue to be paramount as key consideration in planning,” he noted.
He said land use planning comes with regulations and zones are normally created as part of the preparation of master and local plans.
“These master and local plans are prepared in terms of the law and in Zimbabwe they fall under the Regional Town and Country Planning Act. Because they are prepared in terms of the law they actually take the effect of the law.
“In land use planning, a process is then followed to enforce against illegal activity. If you are in an industrial zone and decide to set up a hotel and meanwhile a hotel is prohibited in that zone, the regulatory authority can issue an enforcement order against you,” explained Mr Toriro.
He said the order empowers the regulatory authority to come in and ask the offender to stop the illegal activity and maybe even take corrective measures.
“This is when you find demolitions taking place.
“The enforcement orders can be carried out if people complain and the city is forced to investigate and take the relevant corrective action. “However, it is also the duty of day to day urban management to be looking for unbecoming uses or those activities not in harmony with intentions of the plan.
“If these are observed that due process of enforcement takes place,” he said.
Mr Toriro said: “If my neighbour runs a shebeen and makes noise, I can go and complain at the regulatory authority.
“The city in its day to day operations is supposed to say what you are doing is wrong in terms of the law, and should correct it.
“If they tell you to stop and you don’t, they will take the necessary steps to force you to.”
In terms of gatherings along streets in the CBD, Mr Toriro said there is need to apply to authorities and get permission, but without permission the activity being undertaken can be stopped.
Stopping a nuisance can be done by two main regulatory authorities who are the national police using national laws or local authority using the by-laws.
According to Mr Toriro, if someone is playing their radio loudly on a pavement in a city street, the police can come in and prosecute that person either using the relevant laws and likewise most local authorities have their bylaws, which can equally work on someone who is causing a noise nuisance.
He said supermarkets usually do not have one licence and there is need to check if activities being carried out are in compliance with the law.
“For example in a supermarket, there is a general retail, liquor, butchery, food licence, and all the licenses are subject to periodic different inspections.
“Each licence comes with certain compliances. If getting a food licence the premises have to be inspected and certified fit for what you want to do.
“If the inspection proves that you may cause nuisance to other people or not meet certain hygienic standards you will not be issued with a licence.
“A lot of times when we see things happening we assume these people are authorised.
“That is why activities some businesses are undertaking are unacceptable.
“Because generally land use planning is a very reasonable practice, council does not normally allow something the residents and public may find unreasonable and chances are that when you find such an activity they may not be authorised,” he added.
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