By Staff Reporter
THE Harare City Council (HCC) announced that it has designated space to safely accommodate up to 150,000 vendors across the city.
This statement comes amidst the ongoing Operation Chenesa Harare Final, a joint cleanup initiative by the council and the Ministry of Local Government to address illegal street trading and congestion in the Central Business District (CBD).
The HCC claims to have enough decentralized spaces, market stalls, and repurposed suburban facilities (such as converted beer halls) to host 150,000 traders overall.
Currently, the city has an official database of only 947 legally licensed traders operating within the CBD.
By contrast, authorities estimate that between 20,000 and 30,000 vendors operate illegally on pavements, roadsides, and car trunks within the city center.
While space exists on paper, thousands of official council stalls outside the immediate CBD sit completely vacant or abandoned. For example, a single massive site at the Seke Road/Dieppe Road intersection has over 720 empty stalls.
The council’s primary goal is planned informality. Instead of crowding every trader into the busy downtown streets, they are trying to push vendors into structured suburban markets like Chemanza (which is expected to hold 4,000 traders), Mbare Musika, and Glen View Area 8.
This allows the city to protect its public infrastructure and hygiene while preserving local livelihoods.
