Harare citizens to fork out $10 000 in monthly vehicle parking fees

Staff Writer
HARARE citizens will fork out a whooping $10 187 a month if they are to park their cars in the central business district zone for normal working hours following the recent gazetting of new fees by City Parking.
A notice published by City Parking- a private company contracted by Harare City Council to run the city’s parking bays confirmed that fees have been hiked to US$1 per hour or its equivalent in local currency with effect from July 2 2020.
“This notice serves to inform the motoring public that the parking tariff in Harare CBD has been adjusted as follows. On street parking is now US$1 or ZW$ per hour equivalent at prevailing inter-bank rates. The adjustments are with effect from July 2 2020,” City Parking said.
However, MUTUSO, TARUVINGA & MHIRIBIDI legal practitioners have written to the firm complaining that the fees are too high.
“A civil servant who works at the High Court in the Central Business District of Harare who commences work and 0800hrs and finishes at 1630hrs for five days a week is obliged to budget, for parking alone, about Forty United States Dollars (USD40) per week which is exorbitant,” said the lawyers.
The lawyers said in local currency terms citizens would require a budget of ZW$ 10,187.90 per month just for parking during working hours.
The attorneys implored on the firm to consider that the authority to charge for parking is derived from the contractual relationship with City of Harare, a public administrative institution which is subject to Section 68 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe as read with the Administrative Justice Act [Chapter 10:28].
The legal practitioners questioned the reasons behind the latest increases arguing that the company is not charged with the responsibility to carry out any renovations except to secure swipe machines uniforms, ticket roll making the business operational in nature without a foreign currency.
They have threatened to take legal action against the firm if it does not reverse its decision.