Abstract
Laws are some of the most important and effective instruments used by governments to regulate different areas of citizens’ lives. They are powerful because there are consequences associated with breaking laws. The intention of legislation is to create societies where all people are compelled to do what is good. The assumption inherent in legislation is that ‘laws serve the common good’. This however, is not always the case in reality. There are good and bad laws. This chapter analyses Zimbabwe’s regulatory framework to assess its impact of the urban food system. The data was collected by reviewing the relevant laws, by-laws, policies and plans used in the regulation of the urban food system. The examination reveals that most Zimbabwean laws are very old and have not been regularly reviewed to reflect contemporary challenges and the socio-economic reality. They are not responsive and cannot respond to pandemics, such as the COVID-19. They have not been adapted to meet the objectives of the New Urban Agenda (NUA). Some of the most frequently used laws were enacted for a different era and no longer effectively serve under the current circumstances. The study also reveals that the laws are negative and aim to control and stop rather than facilitate innovation and encourage compliance. It concludes that Zimbabwean authorities must consider a new innovative people-centred approach to enacting legislation to govern livelihoods in general and the food system in particular.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
The author attended the 2018 Annual School of the Zimbabwe Institute of Regional and Urban Planners where there was overwhelming consensus amongst planners that this paragraph of the Act summarizes the objective of the profession of Urban Planning in Zimbabwe.
- 2.
Interview with a Harare City Planning official. The official indicated that the only way to stop vendors was tightening the by-laws and employing more staff responsible for monitoring vendors and arresting them.
References
Battersby J (2018) Cities and urban food poverty in Africa. In: Bhan G, Srinivas S, Watson V (eds) The Routledge companion to planning in the global south. Routledge, New York
Chukuezi CO (2010) Food safety and hygienic practices of street food vendors in Owerri Nigeria. Stud Sociol Sci 1(1):50
City of Harare (1993) Harare Combination Master Plan. Harare, City of Harare
CoB (2008) The Bulawayo Urban Agriculture Policy. Approved policy document for City of Bulawayo.
Faludi A (1973) A reader in planning theory. Pergamon, New York
GoZ (2000) Zimbabwe National Water Authority Act. Government Printers, Harare
GoZ (2000) The Zimbabwe National Water Authority Act. Government Printers, Harare
GoZ (2014) Harare (Protection of Marginalized Land) By-laws. Government Printers, Harare
Godfray HCR, Beddington JR, Crute IR, Haddad L, Lawrence D, Muir JF, Pretty J, Robinson., S, Thomas, S.M. and Toulmin, C. (2010) Food security: The challenge of feeding 9 billion people. Sci J 327(5967):812–818
Government of Zimbabwe (2003) Environmental management act [Chapter 20: 27]. Government Printers, Harare
Government of Zimbabwe (2002) Food safety and food standards act [Chapter 20: 27]. Government Printers, Harare
Government of Zimbabwe (2013) Constitution of Zimbabwe. Government Printers, Harare
Government of Zimbabwe (1996) Regional, town and country planning act [Chapter 29: 12]. Government Printers, Harare
Government of Zimbabwe (1996) Public health act [Chapter 15: 09]. Government Printers, Harare
Government of Zimbabwe (1996) The urban councils act [Chapter 29: 15]. Government Printers, Harare
Government of Zimbabwe (1975) Town and country planning handbook. Government Printers, Harare
Government of Zimbabwe (1976) Shop licenses act [Chapter 14: 17]. Government Printers, Harare
Government of Zimbabwe (1977) Model (Building By-Laws). Government Printers, Harare
Government of Zimbabwe (1989) Public health (Butchers Regulations). Government Printers, Harare
MDP (2003) The Harare Declaration on Urban and Peri Urban Agriculture. MDP, HarareMunicipal Development Partnershhip
Mbiba B (1995) Urban agriculture in Zimbabwe: implications for urban management and poverty. Avebury, Aldershot
McAuslan P (2003) Bringing the law back: essays in law and development. Ashgate, London
Municipal Development Partnership (2002) The Nyanga declaration on urban and peri-urban agriculture. Policy document signed by Zimbabwe’s urban councils in Nyanga, August 2002. Harare, MDP
Njaya T (2014) Operations of street food vendors and their impact on sustainable urban life in high density suburbs of Harare. Zimbabwe. Asian J Econ Model 2(1):18–31
Okojie PW, Isah EC (2014) Sanitary conditions of food vending sites and food handling practices of street food vendors in Benin City, Nigeria: implication for food hygiene and safety. J Environ Public Health 2014:1–6
Omemu AM, Aderoju ST (2008) Food safety knowledge and practices of street food vendors in the city of Abeokuta Nigeria. Food Control 19(4):396–402
Parnell S, Pieterse E, Watson V (2009) Planning for cities in the global South: an African research agenda for sustainable human settlements. Prog Plan 72(4):195–250
Rogerson, C.M., (2016) Responding to informality in urban Africa: Street trading in Harare, Zimbabwe. Urban Forum, 27(2): 229-251
Rogerson CM (2018) Towards pro-poor local economic development: the case for sectoral targeting in South Africa. Local Econ Dev Chang World 75–100. Routledge
Simatele D, Binns T (2008) Motivation and marginalization in African urban agriculture: the case of Lusaka, Zambia. Urban Forum 19:1–21
Smit W (2016) Urban governance and urban food systems in Africa: examining the linkages. Cities 58:80–86
Smith DW (1998) Urban food systems and the poor in developing countries. Trans Inst Br Geogr 23:207–219
Tawodzera G (2010) Vulnerability and resilience in crisis: urban household food insecurity in Harare, Zimbabwe. Doctoral dissertation, University of Cape Town
The Herald (2018) ‘Council recruits police officers’. Newspaper report in Herald, 18 August 2018 edition
Thomas M (ed) (2014) Blackstone’s statutes on property law 2014–2015. Oxford University Press, USA
Toriro P (2007) Urban and peri-urban agriculture: towards a better understanding of low-income producers’ organisations: a study of City of Harare, Zimbabwe. Municipal Development Partnership Eastern and Southern Africa, Harare
Toriro P (2019) Resilience under sustained attack from the police: will Informality survive? J Urban Syst Innov Resil Zimb 1(1&2)
Toriro P (2018) Food production processing and retailing through the lens of spatial planning legislation and regulations in Zimbabwe. PhD thesis, University of Cape Town
Toriro P (2014) The sources of food items being traded informally in Harare CBD: assessing the footprint of Harare’s informally sold food. In: Unpublished paper presented at the urban informality and migrant entrepreneurship in Southern African Cities workshop, 10 February, Cape Town
University of Minnesota-extension (2016) Regulations that impact local food production. https://www.extension.umn.edu/rsdp/community-and-local-food/local-food-policy/regulations-that-impact-local-food-production/. Accessed 13 January 2020.
Watson V (2003) Conflicting rationalities: implications for planning theory and ethics. Plan Theory Pract 4:395–408
Watson V (2014) African urban fantasies: dreams or nightmares? Environ Urban 26(1):215–231
Watson V (2009) The planned city sweeps the poor away: Urban planning and the 21. Prog Plan 72:151–193
De Zeeuw H, Drechsel P (2015) Cities and agriculture: developing resilient urban food system. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, New York
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Toriro, P. (2021). Urban Food: An Examination of the Policy and Legislative Framework. In: Toriro, P., Chirisa, I. (eds) Environmental Resilience. Advances in 21st Century Human Settlements. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0305-1_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0305-1_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-16-0304-4
Online ISBN: 978-981-16-0305-1
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)