Touts and the Control of Facilities in ‘Bleeding’ Harare: A Theoretical Explanation of the Dynamics of Corruption in an African City

Abstract

This article explores the issue of urban management in the face of ‘informal’ or illegal commercial practices in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. It captures the deep-rooted presence of touts who have, for years now, been controlling public spaces of terminals in Harare’s Central Business District. The article is based on narratives from newspapers, radio and comments by stakeholders and aided by theoretical explanations derived from literature review. The western theory of travelling does not differ much from that of Africa only in so much increasing ‘informality’ has distorted it greatly. It has been noted that the major problem is an institutional one yet, the mismanagement of space has overarching challenges for different stakeholders of the city, including passengers and commuter omnibus operators. The article concludes by saying that without the necessary back-up systems, it is a waste of time and resources to embark on aggressive clean-up campaigns of the city. In this case, Harare has no option but to fully ‘capitalise’ its management and develop control mechanisms if the unruliness and distortions posed by touts is to be curbed substantially.