Online Reporter THE ongoing Chenesa Campaign, which seeks to end illegal vending and clean up Harare and other urban centres across the country, is part of Government’s broader national development…
**Online Reporter **
THE ongoing Chenesa Campaign, which seeks to end illegal vending and clean up Harare and other urban centres across the country, is part of Government’s broader national development agenda under Vision 2030, Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe has said.
In an interview on Capitalk FM this morning, Minister Garwe said the initiative seeks to ensure that cities and towns are properly managed and developed in line with the country’s aspirations of attaining an upper-middle-income economy by 2030.
He said the local government cluster is responsible for ensuring that urban infrastructure and public spaces meet required standards, while economic activities such as vending are conducted in designated areas.
“The issue of making Harare and other cities in the country clean is in line with our national development agenda,” he said.
“When President Mnangagwa assumed office with the coming of the Second Republic, he had a plan to rebuild the country, which we are calling Vision 2030, in which we must become an upper-middle-income economy by the year 2030.”
Minister Garwe said Vision 2030 requires deliberate action by Zimbabweans and cannot be achieved without the participation of citizens and the institutions responsible for its implementation.
He said various clusters had been established to drive the development agenda, with the local government cluster specifically tasked with ensuring that cities and towns are properly managed.
“Some think that Vision 2030 will just happen by itself, without us, its owners, doing anything,” he said.
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“There are various clusters that we have that are designed to ensure that Vision 2030 is achievable.
“The local Government cluster has a mandate to ensure that buildings in various cities and towns are up to standard, the places are clean, SMEs are operating in designated areas, and our streets are clean.”
The Minister said the situation in Harare had reached a stage where activities that obstructed motorists and other users of public infrastructure had become common, making the clean-up programme necessary.
Minister Garwe questioned the legality and fairness of allowing informal commercial activities in the middle of the central business district without regard for other users of the city’s infrastructure.
“Is it legal and fair to other infrastructure users that someone can just bring their cart into town and obstruct motorists?
“Is it legal and fair that someone can just bring a braai stand and start selling meat in the middle of the CBD?
“It’s not fair, and it’s illegal, but that’s the point we have reached in Harare and other cities.”
Minister Garwe said the President had directed authorities to restore cleanliness in cities and towns as the country’s development agenda gathered momentum.
“So the President tasked us to make cities and towns clean as our development agenda is gaining momentum,” he said.
“The President is always teaching us that ‘Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo’, so everyone, including the vendors, has a duty to make our country clean.”
