Beitbridge activates District Command Centre to enforce Operation Chenesai

Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau

Beitbridge has activated its District Command Centre to fully implement Operation Chenesai as the Government moves to restore order, cleanliness and safety in the country’s busiest border town.

The District Development Coordinator, Mrs Sikhangezile Mafu, said on Friday during a stakeholders meeting that the Command Centre will coordinate all enforcement activities under both the Municipality of Beitbridge and Beitbridge Rural District Council (BBRDC).

She said the committee will be chaired by the District Development Coordinator’s office, with the Zimbabwe Republic Police as vice chair, while the two local authorities – Municipality of Beitbridge and BBRDC – will serve as secretariat. Periodic meetings will be held until sanity is restored.

The activation comes as both local authorities have started full-scale clean-up operations targeting illegal activities, illegal structures and disorderly developments that officials say tarnish the image of Zimbabwe at its main gateway to SADC.

Officials said Beitbridge handles thousands of travellers and commercial trucks daily, making it the busiest inland port in Southern Africa, and restoring order is critical to protecting the national image for investors, tourists, transporters and returning citizens.

Municipality of Beitbridge’s Town Clerk Mr Loud Ramakgapola said they started full-scale enforcement of municipal by-laws on Wednesday following expiry of a deadline for compliance on October 9.

He said the operation follows Public Notice No. 42 of 2026 and is in line with the Government’s National Clean-Up, Restoration, Order and Safety Programme directing all 92 local authorities to restore order.

“Our mission is to maintain order and bring about sanity in our area of jurisdiction by demolishing or removing all illegal activities,” said Mr Ramakgapola.

He said compliance checks showed widespread non-compliance, with illegal vending increasing along the highway, at road intersections including Bulawayo turn-off, Masvingo turn-off, Manatrade, Mashavire turn-off, border roundabout, New Baobab roundabout, and in residential areas where illegal garages, welding shops, carpentry, tyre mending, gas retail and brick moulding under ZESA power lines had mushroomed.

To absorb those affected, the municipality said it has 10 designated markets and 28 designated sites ready for allocation.

“These include Dulivhadzimu Stadium taxi-rank, Dulivhadzimu bus terminus, Chocolate City flea market, Banamu Market, vegetable bulk market, V1 vegetable market, Mussina grocery market, Renkini flea market, Border taxi-rank flea market and Tagarira vegetable market,” he said.

Mr Ramakgapola said the council has engaged the Ministry of SMEs and will create more sites where necessary.

In the rural district, BBRDC Chief Executive Officer Mrs Kiliboni Mbedzi said the council has issued Public Notices 22 and 23 of 2026 ordering the removal of vendors and informal traders operating in undesignated areas, including rail and road servitudes, at Lutumba Rural Service Centre, Mazunga and Bubi business centres.

The council has also issued a Blanket Enforcement Order in terms of Section 32 of the Regional, Town and Country Planning Act targeting illegal occupiers in peri-urban areas, Lutumba Airport land, and highway and railway servitudes.

“We are now working on a site plan for a new market at Lutumba Growth Point and have also engaged the Ministry of Lands to address illegal activities in resettlement areas such as Mazunga along the Bulawayo Road and Bubi along the Masvingo Road. In addition, engagements with traditional leaders, communities and SMEs are continuing,” she said.

Both councils said those seeking legitimate operating space should register with their respective Spatial Planning Departments.

The local authorities warned that failure to comply will result in enforcement measures with the assistance of law enforcement agencies and restoration costs being charged to the owners.

Source: Beitbridge activates District Command Centre to enforce Operation Chenesai – herald

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