Mushika-Shika Chaos Rooted in Transport Deficit

Mayor of Harare Councillor Jacob Mafume says the explosive rise of illegal commuter taxis, known as mushika-shika, is being driven by a glaring mismatch between the growing number of commuters and the limited availability of formal public transport.

Speaking to the media after the 1936th Ordinary Council Meeting, Mafume said the city is struggling to meet the public’s transport needs creating fertile ground for the proliferation of unregulated transport operators.

This comes as the city is facing a proliferation of mushika-shika at every corner of the town, clogging intersections, defying traffic laws, and operating with impunity in the absence of adequate formal transport alternatives.

“Urban life is organic. If there is a gap, something will fill it up,” said Mafume.

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“The rise of mushika-shika is because of a gap in our mass public transport system. People will always need to move from point A to point B.”

Mafume acknowledged that public transport deficiencies have played a key role in fuelling the informal sector, noting that modern urban lifestyles now demand flexible and reliable mobility solutions—something the current system has failed to provide.

He said the city is working on a comprehensive master plan to revamp the transport network and enhance connectivity based on traffic flows and demand patterns.

“We are doing a master plan where we will have to decide what is the architecture of our mass public transport, where the traffic is, where the links ought to be, and what form of transport we ought to use,” he said.

“We are going to revamp, increase, or adjust our links to be able to cater for the dictates of a modern society.”

Despite acknowledging that enforcement alone will not eliminate mushika-shika, Mafume was adamant that with the help of central government, the menace can be contained.

“The danger is that if we focus on the enforcement dynamic all the time, we will not be able to deal with the problem decisively and we will continue to play a cat and mouse game with mushika-shika,” Mafume warned.

“But we are looking at it, and in the shortest possible time, with the assistance of government, we should be able to have a usable mass public transport system.”