The Sunday Mail
Deputy News Editor
Harare City Council has, with immediate, effect legalised hand and animal-drawn carts on the capital city’s streets. The move is likely to cause further chaos particularly in areas around the periphery of the Central Business District and some residential shopping centres where handcarts have been a menace causing uneasy passage for both human and vehicular traffic.
The Sunday Mail understands operators of handcarts and animal drawn carts can now operate freely within the jurisdiction of Harare upon payment of one year renewable licence fees to be prescribed by the local authority from time to time.
Harare city council is increasing revenue collection avenues with the latest being installation of disputed prepaid water meters to force residents to pay first before accessing the resource.
According to a Statutory Instrument 108 of 2016, Harare (Cycle Licensing) By-laws published in a Government Gazette on Friday, pedal cycles, handcarts and animal drawn cart owners are now mandated to obtain operating licences.
Operation of the cycles without a licence can see offenders being fined fines not exceeding level five ($200), one year in jail or both.
According to the Statutory Instrument; “…cycle means any pedal cycle, handcart or animal drawn cart.
“No person shall use, on any road within the council area, any cycle which is ordinarily kept within the area unless it has been licensed in terms of these by-laws.
“On the 1st of January in each year, the owner of a cycle which is ordinarily kept and used on any roads within the council area shall obtain a licence for the cycle. The period of validity of every licence shall terminate on the 31st of December in the year of issue.”
To make an application, owners are required to produce a receipt or letter from where the cycle was bought, name, address, make and manufacturers number, if any, and payment of a prescribed fee upon which a token shall be issued.
The token is to be firmly affixed on the left hub of the cycle wheel.
University of Zimbabwe lecturer in the Department of Rural and Urban Development Mr Nyasha Mutsindikwa said the development was ill-timed.
“This is not feasible. The infrastructure that we have in Harare is not able to support the ox-drawn carts, bicycles and scotch carts,” he said.
“For example, we do not have cycle tracks in the city centre.
“What this will only do is increase the chaos in the City of Harare because the operations have no supporting infrastructure,” said Mr Mutsindikwa.
“In as much as council needs money, what they are doing is not proper,” added Mr Mutsindikwa.
“Council should also acknowledge that the country is going through economic challenges and most of the target people are low income earners.”
