The Sunday Mail
Harmony Agere
There has been abundant discourse about the chaos in Harare’s central business district to the extent that one is tempted to believe there isn’t anything new left to talk about.
For decades, issues to do with water, refuse collection, public transport management and littering among others have dominated newspaper headlines, Government speeches, pub talks and every other forum there is to discuss such matters.
Nonetheless, and sadly, not much has changed in the capital despite all the talk. If anything, the city, particularly the CBD, keeps getting worse.
Unabated vendor menace, life-claiming wars between kombi crews, pirate taxis and authorities as well as unashamed littering are all the things that characterise Harare today.
Therefore, with regards to all these developments, it can be hard to imagine that sanity will ever return to the capital again.
Hard as it is, experts believe it is possible to transform Harare.
Drawing inspiration from Bulawayo City Council (BCC) which has been making significant strides in making the city clean and organised, town planning expert Percy Toriro says Harare can return to its Sunshine City status.
Due to a number of policies from transport to vending and littering, BCC has transformed Bulawayo into a jewel.
Therefore, experts have implored Harare City Council to copy BCC’s model in order to make Harare shine again.
“What we see in Bulawayo is a result of planning, if you look at the vending stalls and traffic plans they have put in place, it is a result of the work they have been doing for some time now,” said Mr Toriro.
“For Harare it’s a different case. There is barely any planning being done now. There used to be a fully-fledged planning division at Harare City Council but it is no longer effective now.
“Where have you seen a city which operates without any planning? All organised cities thrive on planning and it is high time Harare gets serious and put the house in order. In Bulawayo, there is infrastructure to ensure that the city is in order, here in Harare there is none of that.”
Bulawayo was, for a brief moment, a chaotic city just like Harare but it has gone through massive transformation and is today one of the cleanest, most organised and well run city, not only here in Zimbabwe but in the region.
Although they may differ in magnitude, experts say the same challenges facing Harare are the same problems facing Bulawayo but the latter is coping well.
And this is typified by one of its biggest pride, which is its public transport system.
The city has come up with an excellent public transport system which requires that all commuter omnibus operators register with the city’s three transport associations to create order in the CBD. Each association has its common labels and marks which indicates the route and rank from where each kombi operates from.
For this reason, Bulawayo has eliminated errant pirate taxis and commuter omnibuses.
In terms of vending, although there are one or two unruly elements, vending in Bulawayo is well regulated. Most of the vendors do their business in designated areas.
Neat stalls have been set up for this purpose and due to their strategic positions, vendors have welcomed them.
One or two airtime and fruit vendors remain on the corners and islands but they are not as menacing as those in Harare.
And then there is cleanliness, Bulawayo has managed to wipe out littering entirely. It is very rare to see a pile of rubbish or even a piece of paper in the streets.
Almost every street is lined up with bins to the extent that littering becomes embarrassing. The refuse is also collected regularly such that the bins are empty most of the times.
