SUSPECTED Zanu PF parking barons have taken over the Robert Gabriel Mugabe Square, also known as Freedom Square and turned it into a paid parking area, NewsDay has learnt.
The square next to the Harare Magistrates Court has been a centre of conflict between political parties leading to different names being given to the vast open space.
Driving schools have also turned to the square for their practical lessons when political parties are not using it for their rallies.
Investigations by NewsDay indicated that the parking barons who purport to be linked to the ruling Zanu PF have become popular because they charge amounts which are less than the parking fees charged by Harare City Council’s City Parking marshals.
The parking barons who surfaced in the square late last year charge individuals US$1 to park their vehicles for the entire day.
Speaking to NewsDay, the parking barons said they were trying to live according to the President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s sentiments for Zimbabweans to take control of the country’s development, referring to Mnangagwa’s famous rallying call Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo (A nation is developed by its people).
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One of the parking barons said it was an empowerment initiative.
“We started this initiative last year in October and our role is to ensure that individuals have a safe parking space. We operate in a manner which allows individuals to confidently leave their cars in our care as they either go into town for errands or for work,” she said.
“In the event that there has been an accident or break in, it becomes our responsibility to contact the owner of the car and let them know what would have transpired since they would have left their contact with us.”
The parking barons, who seem to be making a killing charging motorists avoiding the chaos in the Harare city centre, issue receipts or tickets, indicating a well-organised syndicate.
They also recorded brisk business when parents and guardians besieged the square this week to send off their children to boarding schools.
Contacted for comment, Zanu PF national spokesperson said he could not attend to enquiries because he was out of the country.
However, the party’s secretary general Obert Mpofu said the matter should be handled by the local authorities.
“That issue can only be referred to council or local government who are responsible for that and we cannot confirm or deny that these people are Zanu PF members,” he said.
In an interview, Harare mayor Jacob Mafume told NewsDay that the city will not take the matter lightly, promising to expedite action to ensure that council puts an end to the sprouting of unscrupulous parking barons.
“That’s theft and daylight robbery, therefore, we ask our guys to stop it forthwith. If they are found wanting, they will be sent to the police for criminal prosecution,” he said.
Parking barons are, however, commonplace on Harare streets where council is losing millions of dollars in revenue.
Some of the parking bays that have been taken over by parking barons include Harare’s busiest roads such as Nelson Mandela, Jason Moyo, George and Silundika avenues, Chinhoyi Street and Mbare Musika.