The Politics of Street Vending in Zimbabwe: Reflections on the Events in Harare

Abstract

Zimbabwe is faced with the undesirable phenomenon of street vending. Focusing on Harare and other cities, order and neatness in the past were the hallmarks of street management and the general philosophy guiding development control and policing of the city, the streets are presently littered. This is the result of two forces – urban poverty and high unemployment, driving people to seek their livelihoods in the streets, and the failure of politicians to agree on the direction to take worsening the situation. Top government officials and the Minister responsible for local government have been quoted as putting pressure on street vendors to move from the streets and operate elsewhere. Meanwhile, the former First Lady of Zimbabwe has questioned the morality of chasing away poor street vendors and encouraged them to continue operating from the streets. The first stance is not popular but the second is utterly populist and seems to be dictating the momentum of the current events. The first stance is supported by formal business operators and local government officials. Using content and textual analysis of the statements and texts made by the different stakeholders (Forum Qualitative Social Research, 2006) on this issue and with particular reference to the business precincts of Harare, this article is an attempt to assess the validity of these texts against what is obtaining and what is desired. The major argument we put forward is that urban economies are in danger, as long as informality is treated as sacrosanct and given priority over formality and professionalised business.