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The battle for the restoration of sanity in the once sunshine city of Harare seems to be shaping up with victory almost certain for the authorities. A certain lady who said she only came to Harare when vendors had already ‘seized’ the capital city, was heard this week remarking that she never “thought Harare was this beautiful.”
Indeed, Harare was once the cleanest city in Southern Africa, the “sunshine city”. The environment alone would suffice to lure foreign investment. With the chaos that had gripped the capital, the same environment now has the opposite effect in regards to investment promotion.
One of the placards raised by the demonstrating vendors read: “Inga mahure makavapa mvumo wani.” This was a vendors’ appeal to authorities to spare them the same way that prostitutes were spared by the legal provisions. Of course, the vendors believe that prostitution is a worse menace than vending. This outcry will remain echoing in the ears of the authorities as long as other nuisances and chaotic business practices in the city are not also stopped. Vendors believe the authorities selectively applied the law on them.
What this means for government is that after the vending crisis is done with, they should shift focus to other areas where there is equal chaos. This includes the illegal occupation of council and state land as well as the pirate taxis commonly known as mushikashika. Therefore, from the vendors, focus should be shifted to mushikashika.
This week, parliament was told that 80% of vehicles in Harare is not registered. The pirate taxis constitute the greatest chunk of this percentage. While mushikashika is providing a valuable service, the sector can be regulated to bring order that will subsequently make it possible for them to contribute to the fiscus.
In the nineties, there were Peugeot 404s and 504s that offered the same services in urban areas as emergency taxis (ET). They were orderly and never at any time caused a mess in the urban area. The same order can be restored if there is goodwill from the law enforcement agents. The problem is that the people who are supposed to arrest the chaos, are at the forefront of perpetrating the same. With all due respect for the military men, it is an incontrovertible fact that the advent of pirate taxis is rooted in the uniformed forces. Some of these men could be so daring to an extent of driving these mushikashikas in their uniforms.
There is now a disturbing culture in the country of letting a problem grow, only to be reactive when it has taken roots. This same omission led to the current vending crisis that the council is battling to root out. Today, there are many illegal settlements sprouting around Harare and other cities under the nose of the authorities.
The current reactive approach to crises is very expensive on the part of both government and the victim. Government expends resources in remedying the situation while the victim loses the investment he would have put in the illegal venture. Only last week, the council demolished illegal structures in the Glen Norah area. While lawlessness can never be condoned, the authorities must be ever proactive to avoid unnecessary loss of resources and confrontation that attract avoidable attention.
The urban transport system can be improved through the involvement of government in the provision of public transport. In the eighties through to the early nineties, government through conventional buses owned by Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO) dominantly provided urban public transport. The sector was only deregulated in 1993 after ZUPCO could no longer meet the public demand for transport. It is this gap that the pirate taxis sought to fill, albeit illegally.
ZUPCO must be recapitalised to capacitate it to provide reliable and safe transport in urban areas once again. The makeover at ZUPCO should begin by removing square pegs that are in round holes. For a couple of years, the management at ZUPCO has not been up to the mark. The successive bosses at this government enterprise have been either fired or suspended for mismanagement. The bus company has been in the media for wrong reasons. Workers have been going for months without salaries. Even those who were retrenched as far back as 2011 had not received their severance packages. Labour disputes are the order of the day at ZUPCO with properties being attached.
In view of that, a worthwhile person with a sound clue of the national vision as enshrined in the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset) must run ZUPCO and other public enterprise. While it is not a crime to place relatives in such a strategic position, the beneficiaries must account themselves well in that position. There is no need of having a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with several degrees to run a bus company. These CEOs are paying themselves hefty salaries and other perks that are more than the daily revenue income for all ZUPCO buses nationally.
After all, marginally educated people are running some flourishing bus companies with some having been graduated from being conductors. If the hwindis can successfully run a bus company, what then hinders a degreed CEO from making things move for a state enterprise? The sanctions which are being proffered by corrupt and inefficient managers is nothing but a scapegoat.
It is a fact that the illegal sanctions are affecting all socio-economic functions. In that regard, Zimbabwe needs shrewd men and women who can defeat the sanctions. In interviews of CEOs of a state enterprise, candidates must be asked if they could turn around the fortunes of a parastaal in the face of the sanctions. After all, the sanctions that are affecting ZUPCO are also affecting other bus companies that are thriving. The ground is uneven to all. The business astuteness of managers makes a difference.
The five-year medium term plan adopted by ZUPCO in 2011 that targets to buy 100 buses per year must be followed to the letter. The Minister of Transport, Communications and Infrastructural Development, Dr Obert Mpofu must also make a follow-up on his National Transport Policy which, among other measures, seeks to decongest urban roads by introducing high-volume buses that are affordable. This measure can assist in eradicating transport chaos in urban areas. Hopefully, the issue of mushikashika will be uppermost on the priority list of Minister Saviour Kasukuwere so as to bring sanity to our beautiful city