The government’s approval of the Municipal Police and Courts Bill has sparked mixed reactions, with local authorities arguing the proposed law is necessary to improve enforcement of by-laws, while vendors’ representatives warn it could lead to abuse, corruption and increased harassment of informal traders.
Cabinet recently approved the Municipal Police Courts Bill, which, if enacted, would empower local authorities to arrest offenders, establish municipal courts and provide for the appointment of magistrates. Supporters say the proposed reforms would strengthen the enforcement of by-laws, improve traffic management and restore order in urban centres.
However, critics argue that in an economy heavily dependent on informal trading, granting municipal officers arrest powers could worsen tensions between councils and vendors if safeguards are not put in place.
Speaking on This Morning on Asakhe, a daily current affairs programme hosted by CITEZW on X, Vendors for ED Bulawayo chairperson Sawu Jere criticised the proposed legislation, saying those most likely to be affected had not been adequately consulted before Cabinet approved the Bill.
On this topic
“The problem is we’re supposed to have consulted to come on the ground and give the vendors proper designated places to work. They didn’t refuse to do their selling business by law. If you go to the city council, you see that there are mountains of application letters from vendors, which means they really wanted to talk to the council regarding the issue,” said Jere.
Jere said vendors had demonstrated a willingness to operate within the law by engaging local authorities, but argued that authorities had moved to introduce the proposed reforms without first addressing their concerns.
Ward 18 councillor Felix Madzana said the debate should be viewed within Zimbabwe’s broader economic context, where local authorities have struggled to enforce by-laws amid the growth of informal trading.
“At this stage, you know, the Zimbabwean context is a bit different. It is a bit difficult sometimes to predict. But my understanding is that one of the biggest challenges which all local authorities have been facing in Zimbabwe is the issue to do with enforcement. Enforcement has been a very difficult challenge because we have gone through a very difficult time as a country where we witnessed our industries collapsing, the economy now being forced to be centralised in the Central Business District (CBD). It then gave a serious challenge to local authorities in making sure that they try to enforce the bylaws. This is also the other reason why I believe the local authorities have resorted to maybe trying to seek some power so that they could try and bring some kind of sanity, especially in the CBD, even in the locations where we stay,” said Madzana.
He said the inability of municipal police to arrest offenders had significantly limited councils’ capacity to deal with activities that violated local by-laws.
“You discover that there’s a lot of activities which are happening, which are contrary to our bylaws. But local authorities had no power to arrest or even to enforce some of these bylaws because their powers were limited. So I think this is the background and this is what could have prompted the local authorities to seek some power so that at least they could try and bring some sanity,” said Madzana.
Madzana acknowledged that granting municipal police arrest powers could have both positive and negative consequences, particularly for vendors operating in central business districts, if the Bill is enacted.
“I understand this could change in the positive and in the negative way the livelihoods of the vendors, especially those who are in the CBD where these municipal police officers usually spend most of their time in. But it can actually bring positive change. It can as well bring some negative change,” Madzana said.
He said there were legitimate concerns about the potential abuse of power, although he noted that the absence of arrest powers had also led to situations where municipal officers were harassed while carrying out their duties.
“It can also be negative in the sense that whenever people are given powers, it’s natural that you would have people who can actually abuse those powers. It can as well bring some order because we also had people who are now taking advantage of the fact that these police officers do not have any arresting power. So they would sometimes even harass the police officer,” he said.
Madzana said the proposed reforms were likely to have a significant impact if they become law, regardless of whether the outcomes proved beneficial or harmful.
“Either way, it’s bound to be something which is going to bring some change, either in the positive or even in the negative way, depending on how these people have been operating,” said Madzana.
He said local authorities had for years depended on the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) to enforce municipal by-laws, but police were often unavailable because of competing responsibilities.
“The biggest challenge that we are facing is that we have been relying on the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) as local authorities. And for a long time, sometimes you request for more ZRP to assist us in terms of enforcing the bylaws, and then you discover that they are either overwhelmed or they are having their own operations or challenges, which would then leave our local authorities without anyone to look up to in terms of enforcing our bylaws,” Madzana said.
Madzana also acknowledged concerns about the competence of municipal police officers but said appropriate training should form part of the implementation process if the Bill is enacted.
“I understand someone would say, no, your police officers, maybe they’re not qualified enough. They don’t have the merit to make sure that everything is done properly. But that should be a process that I think we have to go through. I know, you know, whenever powers are given to people, they are bound to be abused,” said Madzana.
Despite those concerns, he said proper training and oversight could allow the proposed powers to improve compliance with municipal by-laws.
“But if these people are properly trained, I believe they could try and bring some order to the CBD. And I believe if we all work together in making sure that at least even their powers that are going to be given, they are not going to be abused, this could be a positive development. Because our biggest challenge has always been enforcing,” he said.
Madzana said Zimbabwe’s cities faced broader challenges that required authorities to strike a balance between economic realities and maintaining orderly urban environments.
“If you look at our cities right now, not just talking about Bulawayo, talking about all the cities in our country. These are not the cities that we want to see. I understand we are having economic challenges, but we have to find a way to balance between our economic challenges and also making sure that our cities remain the same in terms of cleanliness, being orderly and also just having that face of a modern city,” said Madzana.
Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (VISET) executive director Prosper Masibi said his organisation believed granting municipal police arrest powers was not the government’s most pressing priority.
“I think for now, it is not a priority for the government to be giving the municipal police the powers to arrest for now, as vendors, we think and we feel it is very necessary for the government, first, not just the government, but the municipal authorities, local authorities to first consider the bylaws themselves,” he said.
Masibi said outdated by-laws should be reviewed first, while mechanisms to prevent abuse of power and ensure meaningful public consultation should also be introduced before the Bill becomes law.
“The first point of call is, let the bylaws that are outdated be updated. That’s the first point of call. The second point of call is having a mechanism that will ensure that if these powers are granted or given, there won’t be any abuse and people should be consulted fully without them left out and just coming up with the bylaws,” said Masibi.
While recognising the need for orderly cities, Masibi said informal traders believed enforcement should only come after local authorities had addressed underlying challenges.
“This is a very complex discussion that needs a lot of scrutiny, but our position as informal traders, we are saying this is not the right time for the government to present such a bill. We recognise there is a need for order in the city. There is a need for effective governance, but we’re not against law enforcement. Rather, it is based on the belief that enforcement should come after local authorities have addressed certain challenges,” said Masibi.
Masibi said one of those challenges was the shortage of suitable vending spaces, arguing that councils should provide adequate trading areas before penalising vendors operating in undesignated locations.
“So, the first challenge that I spoke about is the outdated law. The laws that are there, they are ancient and they need to be updated so that if this local authority policy comes, they are dealing with the laws that are up to date. The second thing is the issue of vending spaces. Local authorities have failed to provide adequate vending for our vendors. Before the government punishes citizens for trading in undesignated areas, it must first ensure that there is adequate safe access to our vending spaces. Across Zimbabwe, including Bulawayo, vending markets are insufficient. Some are overcrowded. Others are poorly located. You’ll find that people need to sell where there is a high movement of people, but the city council will go and put markets far from the people,” said Masibi.
He warned that granting municipal police additional powers if the Bill is enacted could reignite tensions between vendors and local authorities.
“Hence, at the end of the day, you will find people coming to the streets or coming to the base where they are not supposed to be. Now, when the city police are given the powers, then we have a lot of cat and mouse that we’ve been fighting for over years and we’ve created cordial relations with the city council so far. So, we don’t want to go back and forth,” said Masibi.
Masibi said vendors were already experiencing harassment and confiscation of goods despite municipal police lacking arrest powers, raising fears about how the proposed powers could be used.
“There is an issue of police brutality right now as you speak. The municipal police, without those arresting powers, already confiscate goods of people, harassing people. There is a lot of brutality without the powers. Then what if they are now given the arresting powers? What is going to happen? So, it’s that fear of the unknown, what is going to happen if these people are now given more powers, more than the ones that they are having right now,” he said.
He also expressed concern that expanding municipal police powers could worsen corruption and further strain already under-resourced local authorities.
“Then there is the issue of corruption. If you go around to informal traders, they will tell you that there is a police person that is going to come collecting US dollars, there is the council person that is going to come again collecting more US dollars for you to practise in those areas. So now, what is going to happen if we give these people more powers? They are going to abuse our people,” said Masibi.
Masibi also questioned whether local authorities had the institutional and financial capacity to take on the additional responsibilities envisaged in the Bill, arguing that many councils were already struggling to deliver basic services.
“Then, the lack of capacity or institutional capacity by local authorities. Many councils are already struggling to provide clean water, refuse collection, road maintenance, sewer services and street lighting. So, what then if we give them another mandate of training these people, of now ensuring that there are courts, municipal courts, ensuring that now they have to be detained? We are now straining the local authorities that are failing already to deliver proper service delivery or adequate service delivery,” said Masibi.
Leave a Reply