Hon. Charles Z. Tawengwa
RE: HARARE METROPOLITAN PROVINCE NEEDS COORDINATED LEADERSHIP, LONG-TERM PLANNING AND MEANINGFUL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
24 September 2026
Honourable Minister,
I write to you in your capacity as the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Harare Metropolitan Province, at a time when serious questions are being raised about the condition, direction and future of Zimbabwe’s capital.
Harare is not simply another municipality. It is the capital city, the country’s principal commercial centre and the administrative heart of Zimbabwe. What happens in Harare affects businesses, workers, residents, visitors, investors and the wider national economy.
Parliament currently identifies you as the Minister responsible for Harare Metropolitan Province. That position places you in an important coordinating role at a time when the city is experiencing significant challenges involving roads, traffic, water, sanitation, urban planning, informal trading, public spaces, business activity and relations between communities and authorities.
I therefore believe that Harare requires more than isolated interventions. It requires coordinated metropolitan leadership and a clear long-term development strategy.
HARARE CANNOT BE GOVERNED THROUGH ONE ISSUE AT A TIME
There is currently considerable attention on illegal vending, congestion and the reclaiming of public spaces.
These issues are legitimate matters for government and local authorities to address. However, they are only part of the larger picture.
If businesses are leaving the central business district, we need to establish why.
If traffic congestion is increasing, we need to examine the entire transport system.
If roads are deteriorating, we need to examine maintenance, funding, planning and construction standards.
If residents are struggling to access reliable water, we need to address the infrastructure that supports the metropolitan population.
If informal traders continue returning to pavements after enforcement operations, we must ask whether the available formal trading infrastructure and economic opportunities are sufficient.
And if citizens repeatedly raise complaints without receiving meaningful responses, we must ask whether our systems of accountability are working.
Harare cannot be fixed by addressing each symptom separately.
THE BUSINESS FLIGHT FROM THE CBD REQUIRES PROPER INVESTIGATION
I have heard the argument that businesses are leaving the central business district because of pavement vendors.
I do not believe that explanation should be accepted without a proper evidence-based assessment.
Businesses make location decisions for many reasons.
These can include traffic congestion, accessibility, electricity, water, parking availability and cost, security, refuse collection, municipal charges, road conditions, customer convenience and the overall operating environment.
There is therefore a need for an independent assessment involving CBD businesses, property owners, employees, customers, transport operators and residents.
The Government and City of Harare should be prepared to publish the findings.
If the evidence demonstrates that vending is a principal factor, then that should be established transparently.
If the evidence demonstrates that multiple factors are responsible, then policy must address those factors as well.
TRAFFIC AND ROADS
Anyone travelling through Harare can see the pressure placed on the city’s road network.
The number of vehicles has increased, yet the road system and traffic-management infrastructure have not always kept pace with the demands placed upon them.
Traffic congestion has consequences beyond inconvenience.
It affects productivity, deliveries, emergency services, public transport, businesses and the general quality of life of residents.
The condition of roads is another concern.
The City of Harare itself identifies road design, construction, repair and maintenance as responsibilities of its Works Department, while acknowledging challenges associated with limited capital resources and deteriorating infrastructure.
This requires a coordinated metropolitan response.
We need to know:
- Which roads are being prioritised for rehabilitation?
- What is the maintenance schedule?
- How are road priorities determined?
- What is being done to improve traffic flow?
- What is the long-term public transport strategy?
- What is the plan for increasing parking capacity in areas experiencing commercial growth?
- How are neighbouring local authorities being incorporated into metropolitan transport planning?
WATER AND BASIC SERVICES
Harare’s water infrastructure also requires serious attention.
The City’s own information describes infrastructure that was designed for a much smaller population and notes that significant parts of the network are decades old.
This is not simply a municipal inconvenience.
Water is fundamental to homes, businesses, hospitals, schools, restaurants, factories and every other part of urban life.
It is also directly connected to investment.
Businesses need confidence that the basic infrastructure required to operate will be available.
Where businesses in suburban areas can supplement municipal supplies through boreholes or water tankers, CBD businesses may have fewer options because of the nature and density of the built environment.
This deserves serious metropolitan planning.
URBAN PLANNING MUST LOOK BEYOND TODAY
Harare cannot continue expanding without a corresponding expansion of infrastructure.
We need planning that asks where people will live, where businesses will operate, how people will travel, where vehicles will park, where traders will trade, where waste will go, how water will be supplied and how public spaces will be managed.
Urban planning must anticipate growth rather than repeatedly reacting to problems after they have become crises.
The metropolitan authorities should therefore develop and publicly communicate a long-term Harare Metropolitan Development Plan with measurable targets and timelines.
INFORMAL TRADERS ARE PEOPLE TOO
There must be a balance between enforcing municipal by-laws and protecting human dignity.
I do not support the idea that laws should simply be ignored.
At the same time, enforcement should not become a substitute for economic planning.
Many informal traders are people trying to earn a living.
If they are removed from one location, authorities must have a realistic plan for where lawful trading can take place.
The Government and City should therefore invest in properly planned markets, sanitation, storage, security, transport access and affordable trading spaces.
The objective should be an orderly city in which economic activity is accommodated within a functioning urban system.
HUMAN DIGNITY MUST REMAIN CENTRAL
I have repeatedly raised concerns about demolitions, displacement and enforcement methods that can leave families traumatised and livelihoods destroyed.
Regardless of whether someone is wealthy or poor, young or old, formally employed or operating informally, that person remains a human being.
Ubuntu must not become a slogan used only at ceremonies.
It must be reflected in the way institutions deal with ordinary people.
Government has the authority to enforce laws.
But authority should be exercised with fairness, proportionality, communication and respect for human dignity.
HARARE’S HISTORICAL AND TRADITIONAL DIMENSION
There is another conversation that I believe must take place.
Harare has a history that predates the modern municipal structures through which the city is administered today.
As Sovereign Custodian of the Mbari Clan and Harare, I represent a historical and spiritual relationship with the land and heritage of Harare.
I am not asking modern government structures to be replaced.
I am asking that traditional custodianship and modern governance be allowed to engage constructively.
Traditional custodians possess historical knowledge, cultural memory and community relationships that can contribute to the development of the city.
Such engagement should not happen only when authorities require spiritual intervention or cultural participation.
There should be a meaningful and structured platform through which traditional custodians, government, local authorities, businesses, residents, academics and other stakeholders can discuss the future of Harare.
Modern governance and traditional heritage do not have to be enemies.
They can work alongside one another.
MY QUESTIONS TO YOU, HONOURABLE MINISTER
In your capacity as Minister responsible for Harare Metropolitan Province, I respectfully ask:
- What is the Government’s long-term development strategy for Harare Metropolitan Province?
- Is there a coordinated metropolitan plan covering Harare’s roads, traffic, water, sanitation, public transport, parking and urban expansion?
- What mechanisms exist to coordinate the work of central government, City of Harare and other authorities operating within the metropolitan area?
- Will Government commission or support an independent assessment into why businesses are leaving the CBD?
- What is being done to address the deterioration of Harare’s road network and increasing traffic congestion?
- What is the metropolitan strategy for accommodating informal economic activity while maintaining orderly public spaces?
- What safeguards are being applied to ensure that enforcement operations protect human dignity and livelihoods while enforcing the law?
- What mechanisms exist for residents and businesses whose complaints to authorities remain unresolved?
- Will your office establish a permanent Harare Metropolitan Stakeholder Forum involving businesses, residents, traders, professionals, civil society and traditional custodians?
- Will you meet with me in my capacity as Sovereign Custodian of the Mbari Clan and Harare to discuss the historical, cultural and community dimension of Harare’s development?
- Will your office support the development of a publicly accessible Harare Metropolitan Recovery and Development Action Plan containing measurable targets and timelines?
A CALL FOR COOPERATION
Honourable Minister, this letter is not written to create another confrontation between citizens and government.
It is written because Harare belongs to all of us who live, work, trade, invest, study, worship and build our lives within it.
Government has a responsibility.
The City has a responsibility.
Businesses have a responsibility.
Residents have a responsibility.
Traditional custodians have a responsibility.
And citizens have a right to expect institutions entrusted with public responsibility to listen to them.
I therefore call for a new approach based on consultation rather than confrontation, planning rather than reaction, and cooperation rather than division.
Let us not wait until another crisis forces us to act.
Let us plan the Harare that Zimbabwe deserves.
A clean city is important.
An orderly city is important.
A safe city is important.
But Harare must also be a city where people can live, work, trade, invest, travel and raise their families with dignity.
Work with the people, for the people.
Let Ubuntu guide our urban development.
I am prepared to participate in that conversation.
I am prepared to bring the historical, cultural and community perspective that I represent.
And I am prepared to work with government, local authorities and other stakeholders where such engagement is conducted with mutual respect.
Harare needs partnership.
Harare needs planning.
Harare needs accountability.
Harare needs a future.
I have spoken. Those with ears to hear have heard.
We now expect to see change. Not cosmetic change. Not temporary change. Real change.
HRH Princess Eugene Majuru
Princess of Harare
Sovereign Custodian of the Mbari Clan and Harare
Email: harareprincess@gmail.com
Comments
About Author
