Govt clamps down on CBD vending, sets 6pm deadline

The new restrictions apply immediately across all 92 local authorities, potentially affecting thousands of informal traders who rely on the country’s urban centres for their livelihoods.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, Engineer Tafadzwa Muguti, announced the new operating hours in Harare as the government moves to tighten regulation of vending and prepare for the rollout of another National Cleanup Campaign.

Muguti said vending in CBDs would now be permitted only between 6am and 6pm, while vendors operating in residential communities, including high-density suburbs, would be allowed to trade between 6am and 8pm.

“We’re going to go out to all our local authorities but with immediate effect, vending within all central business districts is now limited between 6am to 6pm,” Muguti said.

“After 6pm, we don’t expect to see anyone doing vending within any business district. And after 8pm, we don’t expect to see any vending within residential communities.”

The announcement has particular significance for cities such as Bulawayo, where vending has become an increasingly visible feature of the CBD and surrounding high-density suburbs.

For years, the city centre has been a major trading hub for informal traders selling everything from fresh produce, clothing to food and other household goods.

The informal economy provides an important source of income for people unable to secure formal employment.

The government’s new operating hours could therefore reshape how and when traders conduct business, particularly those who depend on late afternoon and evening trading when people return from work.

Muguti, however, said the restrictions were not targeted at a particular city or category of trader but would apply nationally.

The new rules also seek to bring vending hours into line with existing business licensing arrangements, which generally restrict trading beyond specified hours unless a particular licence provides otherwise

“Unless your business licence says otherwise, according to this, any vending places or anyone who is doing any trading, after 6pm, we do not want to see any of those who have been allowed to do vending within designated places,” he said.

Muguti added the ministry was currently modifying 113 bylaws to align with the government’s Vision 2030 agenda.

“We have 113 bylaws that are being modified currently to suit with the current trajectory of Vision 2030,” he said.

The announcement comes against the backdrop of repeated government and local authority efforts to regulate informal trading, decongest city centres and address concerns around waste management and public spaces.

However, vending restrictions have historically presented a difficult balancing act for authorities, with traders arguing informal trading is a livelihood for thousands of Zimbabweans in an economy where formal employment opportunities remain limited.

The government has not yet outlined how enforcement of the new hours will be carried out or what penalties vendors who trade outside the permitted periods will face.

Muguti also signalled a renewed cleanup operation, saying the National Cleanup Campaign would soon be extended to communities across the country.

“With this in mind, the operation of the National Cleanup Campaign will be coming to a neighbourhood near you very soon,” he said.

The announcement means vendors in CBDs will now have a 12-hour trading window, while those in residential areas will have 14 hours.