Harare Master Plan Targets Fake CBD 'Malls' as Fire Risks and Informality Soar

ZimNow News Desk

Harare City Council has proposed a sweeping ban on so-called "malls" and shop partitioning in the CBD, citing fire hazards, poor licensing compliance, and a drive to modernize the capital under its 2024-2025 Master Plan.

Mayor Jacob Mafume dismissed the mushrooming of small cubicle-style operations as illegitimate:

“Someone just partitions their shop, names it after their grandmother, and suddenly claims it’s a mall,” he said.

This comes on the heels of a licensing crackdown targeting informal operations flouting city bylaws. Safety concerns have been mounting, with Chief Fire Officer Lovemore Mafukidze warning that partitioned shops filled with flammable goods and illegal wooden mezzanines pose a deadly winter fire risk.

The issue also ties into wider economic trends: Zimbabwe’s informal sector now accounts for over 76% of all business activity, according to ZimStat.
Harare’s plan signals a decisive shift: from tolerating high-risk informal setups in prime CBD real estate to enforcing formalization and spatial order. But with the informal economy propping up livelihoods for millions, the clash between safety, legality, and survival is far from resolved.