CITY PARCELLING OUT ICONIC HARARE GARDENS PARK TO PRIVATE PLAYERS
Our once serene and green Harare Gardens, a sanctuary of peace in the heart of the Zimbabwe’s capital is slowly disappearing. Under the guise of “public–private partnerships”, large sections of the city’s most iconic public park are being parcelled out to private players.
The park was once a space for families, children, artists and nature lovers is now being transformed into a patchwork of commercial projects. Restaurants, event venues and private developments are replacing the lawns, trees and benches that once defined Harare Gardens as a refuge from the bustle of the city.
Harare residents are questioning the motive behind these so-called partnerships. Is the City of Harare genuinely pursuing urban renewal or are officials simply selling off public land to private interests for personal gain? Transparency appears to be lacking, and the public has been left in the dark about who truly benefits from these arrangements.
Urban planners have long warned that the commercialisation of public spaces undermines community wellbeing. Parks such as Harare Gardens serve as the lungs of the city, spaces that balance the concrete and congestion with nature and tranquillity. Their disappearance will not only rob Harare of its green heart but also deprive future generations of a vital public heritage.
It is time for accountability. Who authorised these deals? Who are the so-called “partners”? And, most importantly, where will ordinary citizens, who have already lost countless open spaces to car parks, shops and offices go to find peace in a city that once prided itself on its gardens?
Harare Mayor, Councillors and Town Clerk, the people of Harare deserve answers before another piece of our history is fenced off and sold in the name of “development”.
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Engineer Jacob Kudzayi Mutisi
+263772278161
