Harare City Council says it collected more than $1,5
million from vendors in 2018, 23% below the projected income.
Minutes from the informal sector committee tabled at a
recent full council meeting indicate that the local authority collected $1 532
473 00 between January 2018 and December 2018, although more could have been
realised.
“Revenue collection had declined by 23,39% during the year
under review compared to the previous year,” part of the minutes read.
“The decline in revenue collection was attributed to the
following challenges: inadequate funding for informal sector projects,
political interference in allocation of market stalls to vendors and revenue
collection and economic hardship, resulting in traders failing to pay market
fees to council.”
Council has more than 20 000 vendors in its database with
the majority of hawkers reportedly operating illegally.
As a way of increasing revenue collection, the city
resolved to embark on a joint blitz with the Zimbabwe Republic Police to raid
illegal traders and enforce compliance.
“The joint operations had been engaged to assist Harare
municipal police in the enforcement programmes and engagement of political
parties to encourage vendors to pay market fees directly to council and not
through middlemen,” the minutes read.
At the end of 2018, council embarked on an operation to
remove vendors from the city to designated sites, but the exercise was met with
resistance.
Council on Tuesday resolved to increase trading sites and
intensify its blitz to ensure sanity prevails in the city centre.
Meanwhile, the local authority has announced that it was
adjudicating suitable proposals from private partners to develop market stalls
that meet international standards.
Council on Tuesday stated that designs for the market
structures had already been done and a memorandum of agreement with a local
bank to fund the project was still being discussed. Newsday
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