City Parking is strictly enforcing parking and traffic by-laws in central Harare as illegal taxi operators, and errant kombi drivers and private motorists continue to clog traffic lanes and cause congestion.
For instance, the on-street parking entity has since lost control of the area bordering Jason Moyo Avenue, Angwa Street, George Silundika Avenue and Nelson Mandela Avenue to illegal parking marshals who are making a killing out of the business that is supposed to go to the city.
Many have been wondering why City Parking officials have been letting the situation continue, especially after the entity stopped deploying its parking marshals on these streets, with some suspecting underhand dealings between the officials and the illegal parking marshals.
Other major problems for City Parking include the illegal taxis, the mushikashika, and the kombis stopping in traffic lanes to pick up and drop off passengers at undesignated points, plus some using private and company vehicles instruct drivers to stop in a traffic lane while they dash into a bank or shop.
Any vehicle stopped in a traffic lane, unless it is waiting for green traffic light, narrows the road and causes congestion.
Harare City Council now wants its wholly owned City Parking to enforce the by-laws, using the staff already on the streets.
The city council’s own traffic enforcement, municipal police, will be backing City Parking.
City Parking public relations manager Mr Francis Mandaza said the blitz was aimed at maintaining order in the city centre.
“City of Harare has mandated City Parking (PVT) Ltd to enforce parking and traffic by-laws within Harare effective 16 February 2023,” he said.
“The mandate includes clamping, fine ticketing and fine collection on parking and traffic offences. The move is expected to increase compliance and convenience to the motoring public as fines shall be payable to our staff on the street.
“Please note whilst City Parking enforces on offences committed in parking bays, it shall work jointly with City of Harare traffic enforcement in and around Harare city centre. As a reminder, some offences that warrant clamping and fining include failure to display a valid parking ticket, continued parking on an expired ticket, parking over lines of parking bays, obstruction of parking or traffic, washing a motor vehicle in a parking place and failure to display vehicle licence, among others.”
Mr Mandaza urged motorists to make use of their social media platforms for inquiries.
“We urge motorists to make use of our Whatsapp bot or USSD platform for convenient self-service parking. Please pay for parking to avoid inconveniences associated with clamping,” he said.
Harare City Council acting chamber secretary Mr Warren Chiwawa said the city was going to embark on a blitz to instil order in the city.
“We are going to embark on a joint operation involving all enforcement arms of the city like development control, district administrators, city environmental health officers and waste management,” he said. – The Herald
