Illegal vendors operating in Harare and other urban centres have until Wednesday, 9 September 2026, to vacate unauthorised sites or face a nationwide clean-up operation.
Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe on Wednesday, 2 September, said the Government was concerned about the continued growth of illegal vending and informal trading at undesignated sites in Harare’s central business district and the wider metropolitan area.
He said the activities were affecting urban sanitation, blocking public walkways, disrupting formal businesses and causing congestion, posing a risk to public safety and health.
Garwe described the current level of disorder on the streets as intolerable and said illegal vending had become a threat to public health and security.
He said the Government recognised informal trading as a legitimate livelihood, but it must be conducted in line with municipal by-laws and at legally designated marketplaces.
All vendors involved in illegal street and night trading must leave unauthorised sites by 9 September and relocate to lawful markets provided by local authorities.
Garwe said that from 9 September, the Ministry, together with other government ministries, departments and agencies, will launch a comprehensive, zero-tolerance clean-up targeting illegal vending sites across Harare and the broader Harare Metropolitan Province. All illegal structures, stalls and sites will be removed, and municipal police will remain deployed to prevent reoccupation.
The operation will later be extended to other cities, towns and urban settlements across the country as part of efforts to restore public order, cleanliness and ease of movement, in line with National Development Strategy 2 and Vision 2030.
Garwe urged informal traders to use the seven-day window to comply voluntarily, warning that failure to do so could result in the loss of their merchandise. He said local authorities had been instructed to facilitate the immediate registration and orderly placement of compliant traders in designated areas.
