TENDAI BHEBE IN BULAWAYO
Councillors in Bulawayo have raised concern over high rentals for buildings in the city’s residential areas.
This has seen a high number of corporates vacating these buildings.
Consequently, the closure of some businesses in the residential areas has resulted in congestion in the city centre.
This emerged at a recent full council meeting.
Ward 13 councillor Frank Javangwe said there are more vacant shops with no activities in the residential areas.
“We have an influx of residents in the central business district (CBD) but there are buildings that were constructed in the city of Bulawayo’s residential areas. Can the council engage owners of these complexes such as Old Mutual so that they can reduce their rentals for shop spaces.
“If you notice at Nkulumane Complex shopping mall, there are many vacant shops showing that there is no activity. So many people are now coming to the CBD and hence too much littering as they come to buy most of the stuff in the CBD,” he said.
He added: “If possible, the Council should engage Old Mutual to reduce their rentals so that people can rent those shops so that residents can get what they are looking for as well. At the moment, there are no banks there and many big shops have closed, please assist us there.”
Bulawayo mayor Solomon Mguni said the Bulawayo City Council needed to push the decentralization policy.
“The property owners, for instance when you look at Nkulumane Mall, it’s not fully occupied and even the Entumbane complex. I think it’s something that as a council, we need to push this decentralisation policy. It must be seen to be happening on the ground.
“Of course, we need to interrogate why the banks have left those complexes and people now want to come to town for their businesses yet you can go and buy your vegetables, groceries at the nearby shops,” he said.
Meanwhile, chaotic scenes have become the order of the day in the city centre with cross-border buses virtually taking over some parking spaces and turning them into undesignated pick-up and drop-off points in violation of the council by-laws.
Some of the buses have turned parking space along Fife Street in the city centre into a rank while others park between Leopold Takawira Avenue and 6th Avenue, opposite Bulawayo Central Police Station.
Ward 4 Councillor Silas Chigora said:”It’s something that can contribute positively if we remove those buses from town and they start picking from those shopping centres where they are supposed to be.”
