Walking is the oldest and the primary mode of transport for the majority of people in Africa. Up to 78% of Africans walk on a daily basis to access healthcare, education, shops, jobs and public transport – often because they have no other mobility choice.

Despite this prevalence of walking in Africa, vehicle fleets in several African countries, including Zimbabwe, continue to grow and threaten the lives of vulnerable road users – namely the pedestrians and cyclists.  Zimbabwe has seen a considerable and worrisome increase in private vehicles. The number of registered private vehicles has increased by an average of 18% annually over the past 15 years, with the highest number of vehicle purchases recorded in 2015. Currently, the number of registered vehicles in Zimbabwe stands at 1.5 million, with the largest concentration in the capital, Harare. The capital also saw a huge jump in population growth from 2.2 million people in 2012 to 3.2 million people in 2022, leading to ever-increasing mobility demands. Unfortunately, Zimbabwe does not have a sufficient mass public transportation system to move the nation, and a lot of people have resorted to either walking and cycling to make their trips. 

The paradox between recreational and necessity walking in Harare

While travelling on foot continues to present growing benefits for health and for the environment, where no other choices are offered, the cost of walking is on the negative side. There is a noticeable difference between recreational walking and walking out of necessity. To understand this, have a look at Jenna Hutchings’s blog, which tells her personal story of walking in Harare and lays the foundations for finding ways to strengthen community initiatives to make African cities more walkable. In Harare, some people walk distances of anything between 5km and 15 kms to access their livelihoods. Local public transport charges range from between USD0.50c per short trip and up to about USD2 for the longer local trips. These fares are unfortunately not affordable to most commuters who in turn opt to hitch-hiking or using unsafe and often illegal transport means.

Leopold Takawira Street is one of the busiest roads in the capital that leads out of the central business district towards the western suburbs of Harare. Some of the pedestrians are hospital staff who work at the Parirenyatwa General Hospital; but the bulk of the pedestrians using this road of +/-3km trip are family members of hospital patients. 

Tongai is a young man studying pharmacy at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare and staying with his uncle who fortunately owns his own house in one of Harare’s high density suburbs. 

“I have to wake up very early every morning for me to be able to beat the peak travelling period where prices of travelling to town gets more expensive. When I get to town, I can then walk to school because the distance is more manageable. I have to walk to school because my uncle can only afford my trip from home to town. This 6km walk takes up a lot of my time and by the time I get home, I am exhausted. However, I know this is the only way for me to be able to complete my studies and therefore I am grateful. I am going to make sure I buy a car as soon as I start working so that I make my family proud and raise my family’s image.” said Tongai. 

Tongai is not the only young person who suffers the strain of compulsory walking and dreams of buying a car as a solution to his mobility barriers. For them, clean air, health, decarbonisation, road safety and most other concerns are overridden by the social status and convenience that come with owning cars. 

Harare’s staggering pedestrian safety crisis

What was once the “Sunshine City” is now a city characterised by traffic congestion, fossil fuel fumes, unclean air and overcrowded sidewalks. Though walking is prevalent in Harare, it is unsafe as roads are often intruded by vehicles. A 2022 report from the Zimbabwe Republic Police estimates that a monthly average of 320 pedestrians are involved in car crashes, with about 50 pedestrians being killed. About 230 suffer from severe injuries – what a carnage it is!

Despite these shocking statistics, school children as young as 6 years old are permitted by Zimbabwean law to use the roads unsupervised. So it is common  to see young children scampering across busy roads all in an effort to access schools. Sadly, ever so often, the media reports school children being struck down in the proximity of their schools.

Road Safe Zimbabwe Trust is working on setting up Road Safety Clubs in a few schools as a pilot project of educating children on safe road use. We hope by teaching children how to be safe on the road, we can reduce the incidence of road crashes. In the same breath we continue to advocate for road safety priority in Zimbabwe and protect the most vulnerable road users – pedestrians, especially young children, the elderly and people with health conditions and impairments.

Pedestrian-friendly streets for a safer, cleaner and more productive Harare

Imagine the city of Harare designed to be pedestrian-friendly. It would be more connected, active, safe and healthy. Taking pedestrians as full-fledged road users requires mobility infrastructure that is adapted to their needs. People usually know how to use a good street when they see one, and it’s up to planners to create them. It is imperative to put pedestrians at the centre of all spatial planning and redeployment of other sustainable transport modes such as cycling, public transport, car sharing etc. This requires a global approach combining:

• Developing pedestrian-centred areas; 
• Reversing the balance of power between modes and strengthening the collective power of pedestrians; 
• Involving decision-makers, technicians and users to develop pedestrian policies.

By adopting this approach, guided by the Principles of Pedestrian Planning, we will not only improve the safety of these pedestrians but also make the city of Harare more beautiful (for example with colourful pedestrian walkways) and improve people’ s connection to employment opportunities.

COP 27 presents a huge opportunity to push for safe and sustainable multimodal transport systems in Africa that enable people to commute freely according to their preferences and comfort. Public transport systems should have a minimum safety standard and be accessible and safe to all, including pedestrians. As African cities are continually growing, it is of great importance that COP27 emphasises on the protection of wetlands and creating compulsory green spaces in cities. This will encourage active mobility by making travel less tiring. Pedestrians want to be considered and protected. So let’s advocate for them at this COP, which if successful, will make lasting and life-saving impacts.