The Harare City Council has told vendors operation in the streets of Harare to “voluntarily” move off the streets starting tomorrow morning as the city tries to fight cholera which has ravaged the country.
The cholera outbreak, which has since been declared a national disaster, has to date claimed 26 lives while more than 3200 people have been affected.
In a statement, HCC said vendors should start moving off the street while the responsible authorities map a “sustainable solution,”
“Harare City Council appeals to members of the informal sector to voluntarily move off the streets of the Harare CBD beginning tomorrow (Saturday) to designated trading sites. This appeal comes in the wake of the cholera outbreak in Harare which is now spreading to other cities and towns and provinces.
“We have taken this action in the interest of public health. We are in constant engagement with the leadership of the informal sector to map sustainable solutions,” reads the statement.
In an interview with 263Chat last week, Harare Mayor Councillor Herbert Gomba said the council does not have a solution to the escalating number of vendors.
““You cannot remove vendors without engaging them. You need to look at the consequences that follow after. I cannot embark on a futile exercise and what we really need to do is to make sure that we create the necessary framework for them to realize that what they are doing is not good for the city,” said Gomba at the time.
Vendors and illegal transport operators have for long been blamed for the chaos and congestion that the city finds itself in.
