Harare | 16 July 2025
By A Correspondent | More than 60% of streetlights in Harare—many of them funded under Wicknell Chivayo’s controversial procurement deals—have stopped working, according to the explosive findings of the capital city’s 2025–2045 Draft Master Plan, adopted last Friday.
The draft, which is now on public exhibition until October, paints a damning picture of Harare’s crumbling infrastructure, revealing that out of 85,000 installed streetlights, a staggering 53,000 are non-functional. That’s only 37.6% of the city’s lights still illuminating the streets.
Even more alarming, the document confirms that 41% of the city’s traffic lights are also not operational, raising public safety concerns in a capital already plagued by congestion and chaos.
“Street lighting is poor,” the draft plan bluntly states. “Currently, only 32,000 streetlights are functional.”
The revelations come just two years after Presidential ally and flamboyant businessman Wicknell Chivayo was at the centre of a headline-grabbing tender to procure and install city lighting systems. Although the exact breakdown of his involvement in the 85,000 total lights is not specified in the draft, city officials previously confirmed that thousands of units were sourced through deals linked to Chivayo’s network of suppliers—deals which critics claim were marred by inflated pricing and poor-quality imports.
The timing of the failure is particularly sensitive, as President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s 2023 blueprint—“A Call to Action: No Compromise to Service Delivery”—had demanded a total overhaul of local authority performance, with infrastructure reform as a key deliverable.
Instead, the draft master plan exposes a capital sliding deeper into dysfunction. The City of Harare, which spans over 960 square kilometres, is the only one among the four municipalities in Harare Province yet to finalise its master plan—lagging behind Chitungwiza, Epworth, and Ruwa.
Mayor Jacob Mafume attributed the delay to the city’s sheer complexity and the need for more thorough stakeholder engagement. But critics argue that corruption and mismanagement, especially in high-value infrastructure tenders, are to blame.
Wicknell Under Scrutiny Again
The revelation is yet another setback for Chivayo, who is already facing public backlash over murky deals in energy, ICT, and defence sectors—many of which were spotlighted in the recent parliamentary debate over public procurement abuse.
“If 60% of the streetlights have gone off barely two years after installation, then this is not just mismanagement—it’s grand daylight robbery,” said one civic activist who attended the council’s exhibition launch.
The draft plan is comprehensive, covering everything from land use and environmental sustainability to transport, social services, and economic development. But the glaring infrastructure failures—especially on basic utilities like lighting and traffic control—are now dominating public discourse.
Residents Left in the Dark—Literally and Figuratively
Beyond the numbers, the reality on the ground is stark. Entire suburbs are plunged into darkness every evening, with residents fearing increased crime. Motorists navigate intersections without signals, especially during peak hours, leading to frequent accidents and road rage incidents.
The council has also hinted that motorists may soon be held financially accountable for damage to road signs and traffic infrastructure, amid rising cases of reckless and drunk driving.
As public consultations on the draft master plan continue, citizens are demanding accountability—not just for the broken lights, but for the millions of dollars allegedly lost in procurement scandals that keep resurfacing under different guises.
NEXT STEPS:
• Public exhibitions and consultations on the Master Plan will continue until October 2025.
• Investigations into past tender contracts, particularly those linked to Chivayo and associated firms, are expected to intensify.
• City officials face pressure to implement immediate repairs while the 20-year plan is still under discussion.