Harare, Zimbabwe | In a bid to restore order in the Central Business District (CBD), the City of Harare launched a crackdown on bottle store operators flouting regulations by operating beyond their stipulated hours.
The operation, conducted yesterday evening, targeted bottle stores that have become a growing concern for residents, leading to at least 12 establishments being fined US$300 each for remaining open past the 8pm deadline.
City Corporate Communications Manager Stanley Gama, who accompanied the enforcement team during the blitz, affirmed the City’s commitment to addressing lawlessness in the CBD.
“We will not tolerate lawlessness—bottle store owners must respect both the country’s laws and the City by-laws,” Gama stated. “They are slowly turning the city centre into a jungle, and we will not allow that to happen.”
The proliferation of bottle stores in Harare’s CBD has raised alarms among residents, with complaints about increased noise, littering, and general disorder. Many of these establishments are alleged to operate without proper licenses, while others disregard the operational limits set by the city.
Responding to these concerns, the City of Harare issued tickets to errant operators during the operation. Gama warned that stricter measures would follow if operators failed to comply fully with the law.
“Now we will move to revoke their business licences if they don’t comply fully with the laws. All I can say for now is that their honeymoon is over,” he said. “Some of them we are investigating how they were issued with their trading licenses.”
Gama emphasized that the crackdown is not a one-off event but part of a sustained effort to restore order in the CBD. The City plans to intensify investigations into how some bottle stores obtained their trading licenses and will clamp down on those operating illegally.
“We have listened to residents’ complaints about the proliferation of bottle stores in the city, some operating illegally, and we will stop this,” Gama concluded.
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