BY PRIDE MZARABANI
VEHICLE parking fees in Harare have been hiked from $300 to $400 with effect from July 1.
The hike, the fourth adjustiment within six months, comes as prices of basic goods and services continue to skyrocket while the value of the local currency heads south, weighed down by inflation.
While official data places the annual inflation rate at 131,7% , American economist Steve Hanke, who has tracked Zimbabwe’s inflation rollercoaster since pre-2009, says it now tops the globe at 365%.
In a statement yesterday, City Parking, the private company controlling parking in Harare, said: “The motoring public is informed that the on-street parking tariff in Harare central business district (CBD) has been adjusted from $300 to $400 per hour.”
Combined Harare Residents Association regional advocacy officer Rueben Akili said parking space in the CBD should not be privatised.
“These increases should have been done in consultation with the motorists of Harare. They continue to increase parking tariffs, but then how much has City Parking been remitting to the City of Harare? The increases in parking fees will see motorists who work in the CBD failing to access parking bays due to non-affordability,” Akili said.
