By Tendai Guvamombe.
Harare, Zimbabwe. (News of The South) – The City Council is grappling with challenges of traffic congestion and illegal parking in the city amid reports that the authority through municipal officers is currently intensifying a clampdown on all illegal parked vehicles in Harare’s Central Business District.
In an interview yesterday with City Council Spokesperson Michael Chideme reiterated that the clampdown is part of City’s obligation to bring order in the Central Business District arguing that the current measures are necessarily targeted to non law abiding citizens who commits offences in the manner of illegal parking and non payment of parking discs.
“We are clamping vehicles that don’t pay thier parking fees, trade on parking lanes,vehicles that park at illegal places in the CBD so thats an exercise to bring order in the CBD so that there is full compliance, we would rather be happier with zero income but with people complying with the law so that there is order in the city.”
According to Chideme motorists have two options either to make a once of payment for the City Parkades or to park along CBD streets where municipal officers will be patrolling checking on the vehicles with outstanding parking balances.
Currently the council man-hunts those with vehicles exceeds parking payments by at least three minutes where instead of paying 1 Rtgs dollar for 30 minutes will be required to pay a 57 Rtgs dollars, a figure which has been criticized by members of the public saying such an operation is unjustifiable.
“Our traffic enforcement oversees those matters thats why we have an increase in the complaints because they are going to some of those areas that were traditionally not being attended to, now because we do have the main power that’s why you are now hearing those noises its coming out of our efforts to bring order in the CBD and make sure all parking are paid for and accounted for.“
The recent unbearable operations is intensfied to bring decongestion in the city regardless of one’s centre of prestige diplomats, government officials,investors and ordinary motorists included.
“The law has been there, it has always like that.We are not chasing away investors, if they know there is a law that is being followed, they also be happy because they know if they know the laws are are in existent In Zimbabwe in Harare they are followed.“
In other cities motorists are obliged to pay a premium for parking in the City where there are facilities such as parking lots, parkades, but in the case of Harare such measures are not yet taken to enforce premiums.
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