Gweru City Council has given vendors operating in the central business district (CBD) until Friday, September 25, to vacate the area or risk legal action and c...
Gweru City Council has given vendors operating in the central business district (CBD) until Friday, September 25, to vacate the area or risk legal action and confiscation of their goods.
The council issued the directive in a notice advising all vendors to leave the Gweru CBD by the deadline.
“All vendors are hereby advised to vacate the city of Gweru CBD by the 25th of September 2026. No vending will be permitted within the CBD after this date,” the council said in the notice. (NN24)
The directive comes amid wider efforts by authorities to regulate informal trading in Zimbabwe’s urban centres.
Vendors operating in CBDs have faced increased restrictions as local authorities seek to control trading spaces and address issues surrounding congestion, cleanliness and the use of public areas.
The latest order means vendors trading within Gweru’s CBD will have to leave the designated area before the Friday deadline.
Those who continue operating in the CBD after the deadline could face enforcement action, including possible legal proceedings and confiscation of goods, according to the notice reported by NewsDay.
The move comes as the government has also introduced changes to CBD vending regulations across the country.
Earlier this month, authorities announced that vending within CBDs across the country’s 92 local authorities would be restricted to specified operating hours, with trading limited to between 6am and 6pm.
The restrictions have faced resistance from some vendors in other cities, with traders arguing that reduced operating hours affect their income.
In Bulawayo, vendors recently challenged the 6pm trading cut-off, saying that many customers only begin shopping later in the afternoon and that the restriction could affect their livelihoods.
For Gweru vendors, however, the latest council notice specifically requires them to vacate the CBD by September 25, after which vending will not be permitted in the area.
The council is expected to enforce the directive after the deadline.
