HARARE-(MaraviPost)-Zimbabwean government has issued a “stern and final warning” to illegal street vendors in Harare and other urban centers, announcing a zero-tolerance clean-up operation to begin next week aimed at restoring order to city streets.
In a press statement dated Sept. 2, 2026, the Minister of Local Government and Public Works, Daniel Garwe, said the Ministry had noted with concern the “continuous proliferation of illegal vending and informal trading at undesignated spots” in Harare’s Central Business District and across the wider Harare Metropolitan Province.
According to the statement, the rampant practice has “severely compromised urban sanitation, blocked public pathways, disrupted law-abiding formal businesses, and created artificial congestion that undermines public safety and health regulations across our capital city.”
The government acknowledged that informal trading remains “a recognized avenue of livelihood” for many Zimbabweans. However, Garwe said it must operate “within the bounds of municipal by-laws and at legally designated marketplaces.”
“The current state of disorderliness on the streets is not tolerable,” the statement read. “The conduct of illegal vendors has become a threat to the health and security of our nation creating a home for drug and substance abuse among other ills.”
The Minister gave all vendors engaged in illegal street and night trading until Wednesday, September 9, 2026 to vacate unauthorized sites and relocate to lawful, designated vending markets provided by local authorities.
Starting that same day, the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, together with other government departments and agencies, will launch a “comprehensive, zero-tolerance clean-up operation” targeting illegal vending sites across Harare and the broader metropolitan area.
During the operation, the statement said, “all illegal vending structures, stalls, and sites will be completely disbanded.” Municipal police will remain deployed to ensure cleared areas are not re-occupied.
Following the capital, the exercise will “systematically move to all other cities, towns, and urban settlements across the country” in line with the government’s National Development Strategy 2 and Vision 2030 goals of restoring public order, cleanliness, and trafficability.
Garwe urged informal traders to “take note of the advice, utilize this window, and comply with the directive voluntarily to avoid loss of their merchandise.”
Local authorities have also been instructed to facilitate the “immediate registration and orderly placement of compliant traders into designated structures.”
“The Government remains committed to fostering a sustainable, orderly, clean, and safe macroeconomic environment,” the Minister said. “All citizens and stakeholders are expected to cooperate fully with law enforcement agencies during this necessary exercise.”
Street vending has long been a contentious issue in Zimbabwe’s urban areas, where economic hardship has driven many into informal trade.
Previous government clean-up campaigns have sparked clashes with vendors and criticism from human rights groups over the impact on livelihoods.
The latest announcement signals a renewed push by Harare to enforce urban regulations ahead of the 2030 development targets.
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