Staff Reporter
The Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) led Harare City Council (HCC) is up in arms with motorists over unreasonably high parking fees and fines.
HCC sub-contracted City Park, a private entity to manage parking and ticketing in Harare, Gweru and Masvingo. The authority is charging US$1 for an hour, while failure to display a parking disc is attracting a fine of US$132.
However, there has been an outcry over extortionist pricing resulting in a social media frenzy punctuated by calls to take to the streets today 3 March 2023 in a protest dubbed ‘Black T-shirt Day’. A social media message calling for the demonstration has gone viral on WhatsApp.
The message reads “Friday March 3, A BLACK T-shirt day ... Izuva rekunyunyuta ... KuHurumende yeZimbabwe. Pamwe nekunyunyuta kuKanzuru yeHarare ... Kuvagari vose vemuguta ReHarare , varidzi veMotokari zvese nevatyairi vadzo ngatibatanei maoko nemusiuyu kuisa nyunyuto yedu kuHurumende maererano neMashandiro eCity Park yeHarare veduwee Guta reHarare harichagarike pamusana peCity Park... zvaakuita kunge tadzokera muSmith Regime chaiyo. Muguta reHarare hamusisina runyararo kugadzikana kwepfungwa kana uine Motokari hapachina...”
“City park ikudhura kudarika zvinhu zvose muZimbabwe nekuti chingwa chaicho chinoita US$1 chine flour, wheat, sugar, magetsi, mvura, salt nezvimwe chinoita US$1 and just parking yoita $1 per hour.
“Mutero wemota unoita $20 per term ine 4 months meaning to say it's less than 20 cents per day then parking yoita $1 per hour.
“If parking ichiita $1 per hour it means per day it costs $8 but fuel yekubva kuLocation kupinda mutown it costs less than that, so parking is much expensive than fuel.
“If parking is costing US$8 per day it means pa10 days it costs $80 so pa 30 days that is per month it costs US$$240 per month so it means per term it costs US$$960 meaning to say parking ikudhura kudarika school fees.
“Mushandi we City of Harare anotambira US$4.30 per day so anotambira Mari isingagone kupedza day akapaka mota yake, sooo.
“Friday March 3 let us all dress in Black and complain abt this taneta nehunhu hwekudzingana muHarare City Park is now a problem to the Zimbabweans, read the post.”
Meanwhile, an HCC employer who talked to this publication on condition of anonymity divulged that the hiking of the parking fees and fines was a fundraising gimmick by CCC authorities to fund its projects. The employee indicated that CCC was broke and was in a tight fix to repair its refuse collection fleet that is currently grounded, water cleaning chemicals and to fund the renovations of Rufaro Stadium.
“Remember the fall out between Sakunda and HCC over the project to renovate Rufaro Stadium which is now being carried out by city authorities? It has always been politics from the beginning; CCC felt they will be exposed if they had let Sakunda do the renovations. Thus they blocked the project preferring to fund it. HCC then hired City Parking to manage parking and ticketing in Harare CBD, which is one of their cash cows,” said the source.
“HCC had foreseen the backlash and resorted to using City Park as a shield. In Gweru, council was forced to review the fees and fines, hence the peace there.” added the source.
Meanwhile, there has been running battles between the motorists and City Park employees over the extortionist prices.
