Bulawayo council strick clashes with trade fair

primer display during last year s trade fair.

THE Zimbabwe International Trade Fair got underway in Bulawayo on Tuesday in the middle of a strike by council workers over unpaid salaries.

Burst water pipes were not being attended to; rubbish lay uncollected and council-run clinics were turning patients away after the 3,200 workers walked out on Monday and Tuesday.Council workers were due to be paid on Monday, but Bulawayo is broke – just one of 12 urban councils that are in salary arrears.

There was no significant disruption on the Trade Fair which opened briskly with all space taken, as the country’s premier business exhibition recaptured its former glory.

Council bosses were locked in meetings with unions in a bid to resolve the strike on Tuesday – aware that the breakdown in service delivery could snowball into a full-blown crisis before the fair concludes on Saturday night.

This year’s ZITF has seen the return of European countries after a decade of boycott, but China – fast becoming Zimbabwe’s biggest trade partner – is sending the highest number of foreign exhibitors.

Italy, Poland and Germany are the three European countries represented at the exhibition. Zimbabwe’s neighbours South Africa, Malawi, Botswana, Mozambique and Zambia were also heavily represented.

Trade fair causes suspension of water rationing

THE Bulawayo City Council on Monday announced it had suspended its water rationing regime for a week, covering the 54th Zimbabwe International Trade Fair ZITF which gets underway on Tuesday and ends on Saturday.

Bulawayo residents have lived under a three-day-a-week water shedding schedule for the last four months as the city grapples with a water supply crisis.But council bosses have decided to keep the taps running as the city prepares to host thousands of visitors and exhibitors from around the world.

An entrance to ZITF(PIC)Extrated from the newzimbabwe.com

According to the new-Zimbabwean.com,Simela Dube, the director of engineering services, told the Zimbabwe Water Resources and Infrastructure Investment Summit being held at the ZITF exhibition centre on Monday that the uninterrupted water supply which started last Saturday will run for seven days.

"The council has decided to shelve water cuts to facilitate smooth holding of the premier trade showcase and cater for the thousands of visitors who have come to the city for the fair," said Dube.

First impression is always the best one thus Bulawayo is trying to show the world how citizen live.Can we say its a bad thing that we all know water is never there but because there are visitors we just have to shut our mouths and enjoy.

city council rebuked

Bulawayo City council has failed its citizens by failing to do its duties properly.There are just there in name allowing other organizations to control matters affecting the public and this really is bad.Everyone knows that the mandate of companies is to make profits not to satisfy the people s needs.Then how do you expect these companies to operate in favor of the people?There is no way that can happen however our leaders have given the companies the right to control the city.

For example,the supply of electricity should be a mandate of the council to its people but our council so it fit to give all the powers to the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA).That is why ZESA holdings can cut off electricity for residents at any time they want without any apologies sometimes.The public had cash power installed for them because this company was saying there are not paying their dues.However,with this strategy,everyone buys the electricity they can afford but still electricity shedding has even increased i n the city.What is the excuse now.

What about Zimbabwe National Roads Services (ZINARA),is it really necessary to give them power over all roads in the city.Inst it there are supposed to maintain those roads in between cities and places and not in cities?What is causing then our council to want to give their responsibilities to other organizations.Is it because of lack of funds or not knowing their sole purpose in a city because as residents we need to know what is going on.We deserve a council that will fight for us so that we have better living standards not position holders.How can our city develops when these companies are only after profits,the council should real look into thus so that Bulawayo can be a better place.

"Bulawayo has long been regarded as the industrial and business capital of Zimbabwe and is home to the National Railways of Zimbabwe because of its strategic position near Botswana and South Africa"said Bulawayo spokes person

and the public needs to see it and experience it and it only takes working together.

Neighborhood watch to be revived

Residents associations in Bulawayo have called upon residents to revive neighborhood watch committees in order to help curb criminal activities that are reportedly on the rise in most suburbs.

Recent Media reports show that in less than two weeks at least three people have been found dead and others raped in different suburbs around the city.

According to the chronicles newspaper,the most recent case is that of a Cowdray Park woman who on Monday was found dead and that of a Lobengula man who was also found dead on the street early Sunday morning.

Bulawayo United Residents Association (BURA) secretary Methuseli Mpofu has urged residents to report suspicious people in their communities to the police.

Mpofu said those who hire maids should do thorough background check as they have been receiving numerous reports of maids running away with children left in their care.

“Residents should make sure that they assist each other in their neighborhoods so that they are able to curb criminal activities,” said Mpofu.

Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) organizing secretary Ambrose Sibindi has also called upon residents to revive neighborhood watch committees in order to help curb crime. Sibindi said they are yet to hold meetings to appraise residents on crime reduction methods.

council develops the city

 

BULAWAYO City Council has approved the setting up of three private hospitals in a rare feat for the investment starved


Corporate 24 was founded by Mike Joka, a Harare-based medical doctor. The company already owns several health centres in Harare. Shandrilla Investments got the nod to develop a 100-bed hospital in the high-desnsity suburb of Pumula South.

The hospital would be built near Premier High School along Intemba Road, council said.
 
Council revealed the hospital would be made up of a trauma centre, casualty department, out patients, X-ray and ultrasound units, a pharmacy, maternity wing and laboratory.

“The piece of land applied for was set aside for the development of a hospital in terms of the layout covering the area and there would be no town planning objections for it to be allocated to the applicant as it would assist the community to gain easy access to a medical facility within their vicinity,” council said in recommending the project.

The third hospital would be built by Veronicare Health at corner Huggins Road in Luveve Suburb. Veronicare said the construction of the 50 to 80-bed facility would start as soon as the council approves the project and would be operational with a year.

It would consist of accident and emergency, maternity, radiology and admissions departments. “The hospital will cater for all residents especially the western suburbs surrounding this area. We will strive to provide fast, affordable and quality health care for all residents,” the investors said in the application to council.

“This project will help to ease pressure on existing hospitals especially government hospitals, (Mpilo Central and United Bulawayo Hospitals) and city council clinics.” However, council said there were urban agriculture activities around the area and proposed to give the investor 2 000 square metres of land.

The council said more land would be made available to the investor when the project took off.
Bulawayo has a few private health institutions and construction of more private hospitals would likely help bring down the cost of healthcare. southern eye

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Campaign posters causing more litter in the city

During a clean up campaign held in Bulawayo,there was a realization that the main sources of litter in the CBD were campaign posters and fliers that had been scattered all over the city in order to raise awareness for upcoming functions.

Young people suggested that the city becomes stricter in implementing its by laws where citizens are supposed to seek permission to stick posters around the city and take the responsibility of pulling them down afterwards. This would ensure that the city was in a constant state of cleanliness.

Bulawayo youths at work.(pic extracted from the Zimbabwean.com)

During the clean up,the Mayor of Bulawayo, Mr Martin K Moyo reflected on the importance of keeping the city of Bulawayo clean in order to uphold its status as the cleanest city in Zimbabwe.

  

 “Bulawayo is still one of the cleanest cities in the world; therefore people need to maintain these clean standards. Clean up campaigns are excellent initiatives especially when youths are involved in the process,” said Moyo

Young  people were encouraged  to carry out more initiatives like this in order to inculcate a culture of cleanliness in the city.

The Bulawayo Youth Council (BYC) in partnership with Bulawayo City Council (BCC), Green Pride and the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe held a clean-up campaign in the Bulawayo Central Business District. The objective of the clean up was to commemorate International Environment Day which is a day that is set aside to stimulate worldwide awareness of the environment and to enhance political attention and action..

The youth councilors also managed to collect more cans and plastic bottles for their recycling project which seeks to raise funds for their various developmental projects. Such an environmentally friendly way of raising funds was commended by the partner institutions that encouraged the youth councilors to continue promoting a green society.

As a way of advocating for a clean city, the youth councilors recommended that the NYDT should put up branded bins around Bulawayo. The Cleanup Campaign was an initiative of the BYC, which is part of NYDT’s Local Youth Councils.  More community projects are expected to be implemented by the BYC for the benefit of young people in the city of Bulawayo.  

Bulawayo City Council in debt

Bulawayo City Hall (Pic extracted from the Gazette.com

BULAWAYO City Council, currently owed in excess of US$100 million by residents, companies and government is now in a precarious financial position as it battles to service a debt of US$99 million, a development that has forced the local authority to be tough on its debtors.

The local authority, also waiting for government approval of its US$158 million budget for 2015, says it is finding it difficult to deliver basic services with its debtors increasing almost every month owing to the prevailing economic challenges in the country.Bulawayo City Council (BCC)’s biggest debtor are the residents owing in excess of US$56 million followed by industry and commerce standing at US$42 million and government at US$1,9 million.

“For the domestic debt, you will appreciate that in 2013 there was a directive that as council we should write-off our debtors for the consumers,” said BCC accounting manager, Cyprian Dabengwa.

“As you can see now that debt has risen to US$56 million as at the end of February which means we are not having a lot of payments in terms of our domestic ratepayers.”

In July 2013 the government issued a directive ordering municipalities to cancel all debts owed by residents backdating to February 2009, throwing local authorities into financial turmoil that they are still battling with to date.