Harare’s Mayor has condemned the ludicrous number of police roadblocks in Harare and the terrible state of the roads as being painful to residents, and a deterrent to tourism. While presenting his second State Of The City address last month, Manyenyeni described the efforts between the ZRP and council’s Trafficable Roads Team as disjointed.

“Allow me to share the grief of the excessive number of roadblocks mounted by the ZRP in the city. This is one of the most annoying aspects of living in Harare. The pain of the roadblocks is widely shared in our communities and has been exported by visitors to further de-market and derail tourism in the city and in the country,” he said.

Motorists in Harare complain that despite their best efforts to comply they are forced to pay fines at the steadily increasing number of police stops popping up at almost every turn. It is becoming so bad that at times traffic fines can exceed the already high costs of running and maintaining a vehicle. What’s more, motorists can be detained for hours while police try to extort cash from them. This keeps them away from work, and paying fines after long waits carries direct and indirect economic consequences for the individual and the economy at large.