Masvingo Online

Government Vending Crackdown: Masvingo Vendors Face a Difficult Week Ahead of Tourism Expo

MASVINGO — Zimbabwe’s latest government directive ordering illegal vendors to vacate unauthorised trading sites could create fresh uncertainty for informal traders in Masvingo, just as the city prepares to welcome thousands of visitors for the 2026 Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo.

In a press statement issued on September 2, Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe gave vendors operating from unauthorised sites until Wednesday, September 9, 2026, to vacate and relocate to designated vending markets.

Government says it will then launch what it describes as a “comprehensive, zero-tolerance clean-up operation”, beginning in Harare before being extended to other cities, towns and urban settlements across the country. Municipal police are expected to remain deployed in cleared areas to prevent vendors from returning.

The directive comes at a particularly sensitive time for Masvingo, which is scheduled to host the Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo from September 9 to 12, bringing together tourism businesses, exhibitors, investors, buyers, international visitors and media.

A difficult timing for Masvingo vendors

The timing could put Masvingo's informal trading community in a difficult position.

While the Government statement initially places the immediate operation in Harare and the wider Harare Metropolitan Province, it explicitly says the clean-up will subsequently move to other cities, towns and urban settlements nationwide.

That means Masvingo vendors could find themselves preparing for enforcement at precisely the same time that the city is expecting an influx of visitors.

For many informal traders, major events such as Sanganai/Hlanganani represent an opportunity to increase sales through food, drinks, souvenirs, clothing, crafts and other products.

The tourism expo is itself intended to showcase Zimbabwe's tourism products and attract international visitors and business opportunities.

The concern, therefore, is not necessarily whether Masvingo should have clean and orderly streets. The bigger question is whether enforcement should be accompanied by enough alternative trading space and proper planning before vendors are removed.

Government's own statement recognises informal trading as a legitimate livelihood, while insisting that it must take place within municipal by-laws and designated marketplaces.

It also instructs local authorities to facilitate the immediate registration and orderly placement of compliant traders into designated structures.

The success of the operation may therefore depend heavily on whether those alternative spaces are actually available, accessible to customers and capable of accommodating the traders who will be displaced.

Zimbabwe has tried this before

The latest directive is not the first time Government has attempted to remove informal traders from Zimbabwe's streets.

In 2015, authorities launched a major crackdown on unlicensed vendors in Harare and other urban centres. Police operations included arrests and destruction of vendors' goods.

Yet the following year, vendors were back on Harare's streets. A January 2016 report noted that illegal vendors had returned only months after being forcibly removed in the 2015 clean-up campaign.

Another major crackdown came in January 2018, when Government gave illegal vendors and pirate taxis in Harare 48 hours to leave the streets, threatening forcible removal with military assistance.

The persistence of street vending despite those interventions demonstrates the central difficulty: removing vendors from a location does not necessarily remove the economic conditions that push people into informal trading.

The biggest historical warning: Operation Murambatsvina

Perhaps the most significant historical example is Operation Murambatsvina, launched in May 2005.

The operation involved widespread demolitions and evictions targeting informal settlements and informal businesses. Human Rights Watch documented the destruction of homes and informal business structures, while research published several years later found that street vendors returned to their former trading areas.

Research by scholar Francis Musoni found that, four years after the 2005 clean-up, tens of thousands of informal traders could again be seen on pavements in Harare and other Zimbabwean cities.

Even shortly after the 2005 operation, reports described vendors quietly returning to the streets, demonstrating the difficulty of permanently eliminating informal trading through enforcement alone.

More recently, the same cycle has continued. In April 2026, reporting on Harare's clean-up efforts quoted authorities complaining that vendors were returning to the CBD soon after clean-up teams had left.

Enforcement versus livelihoods

This history raises an important question for the latest directive.

Zimbabwe undoubtedly needs clean, safe and accessible cities. Blocked pavements, illegal structures, litter and congestion can create genuine problems for residents, motorists and formal businesses.

But if traders are simply removed without viable alternatives, the underlying economic problem remains.

A successful long-term solution may require properly serviced vending markets, affordable licences, storage facilities, sanitation, security, transparent allocation of vending bays and access to customers.

Otherwise, history suggests that authorities could end up fighting the same battle repeatedly — remove vendors today, only to find them returning tomorrow because their livelihoods have nowhere else to go.

For Masvingo, the issue deserves particular attention because the city is about to host one of Zimbabwe's biggest tourism events.

As Sanganai/Hlanganani opens its doors on September 9, the same day Government's deadline expires, Masvingo faces an unusual situation: a city preparing to showcase its tourism potential while thousands of people who depend on informal trade are watching anxiously to see what the national clean-up directive will mean for them.

The Government now has an opportunity to ensure that the latest directive does not become another chapter in Zimbabwe's long-running cycle of clean-up, eviction, return and renewed enforcement.

The question is whether this time there will be enough designated trading space and economic alternatives to make the policy sustainable.

The recently refurbished Masvingo airport will start receiving flights from the 5th of September a two way ticket from Harare to Masvingo will be costing 240

Vakapedza masports vaWinky D ku tete-a-tete in two weeks he will be in Masvingo

MASVINGO ACCOMMODATION INDUSTRY SET FOR A BOOST 🚨

Masvingo’s accommodation industry, which is among the least occupied in the country, is set to benefit as more than 1 000 delegates, including international participants, descend on the city next week for the National Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Week.

The event has been oversubscribed and is expected to bring significant business to hotels, lodges, guesthouses, restaurants and other local businesses.

Government officials will also assess projects in the province, including the Harare–Masvingo–Beitbridge Highway rehabilitation and the completed Great Zimbabwe Visitors Centre.

The event could provide a much-needed boost to Masvingo’s hospitality sector. 🏨📈

Do you think Masvingo is ready to accommodate more than 1 000 visitors?

Dolly Parton: A Life That Gave More Than It Took ❤️🕊️

Dolly Parton may be remembered around the world for her music, but beyond the stage was a woman who spent much of her life giving hope, opportunity and kindness to others.

Dolly died on August 25, 2026, aged 80, leaving behind a remarkable legacy of community service and philanthropy.

One of her greatest gifts was Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which she launched in 1995 in honour of her father, who could not read or write. The programme provides free, high-quality books to children from birth to age five, helping millions of young children develop a love for reading. More than 300 million books have been distributed through the programme.

When devastating wildfires struck her home region of Tennessee in 2016, Dolly didn't simply offer words of sympathy. Through her My People Fund, she provided financial assistance to families who had lost their homes, ultimately supporting around 900 families.

She also gave generously to medical research and healthcare. In 2020, she donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for COVID-19 research, money that became part of the research that helped lead to the Moderna vaccine.

Her generosity extended to education, children, disaster victims, hospitals and communities. She created the Dollywood Foundation to help children succeed in education and supported scholarships for young people from the community where she grew up.

Perhaps the most beautiful thing about Dolly's philanthropy was that she didn't forget where she came from. She grew up in poverty, became extraordinarily successful, and then used much of that success to open doors for people who needed a helping hand.

Her legacy is therefore much bigger than music.

She gave children books.
She gave families hope.
She supported communities in crisis.
She invested in education.
She supported medical research.
And she reminded millions that success means even more when it is shared.

Dolly Parton leaves behind a simple but powerful lesson: you don't have to change the whole world to make a difference—you can change one person's world at a time.

Rest in peace, Dolly. 🕊️❤️

The music may eventually fade, but the lives she touched will continue telling her story.

What is your favorite Dolly Parton song