Council takes begging bowl to funeral companies

TENDAI BHEBE IN BULAWAYO

The Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has taken its begging bowl to funeral companies operating in the city to assist in the rehabilitation of deplorable roads leading to cemeteries amid financial constraints.

“Those funeral parlours have a lot of money and they can just be engaged to assist us,” the city’s deputy mayor Mlandu Ncube told a full council meeting.

He added: “I am not saying thus the law, but it’s a fact that we (BCC) are incapacitated. We are carrying a begging bowl, why are we not asking the funeral parlours to assist us. They are making a killing from our residents, some of them are making too much money. So, why are we not approaching them.”

Ward 15 councillor Febbie Msipha said: “It is embarrassing as a councillor when you attend a funeral and residents complain of those potholes. It really becomes difficult for a councillor. We should respect those people when they are going to their resting places.”

Last year, the government declared all roads a state of national disaster, leading to the launch of the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme 2 to the tune of ZWL$33bn.

Treasury allocated ZWL$1bn towards rehabilitation works in the city of Bulawayo road network which will see BCC rehabilitation of some roads while the Department of Roads will be in charge of the others.

Recently, the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Felix Mhona, toured the Bulawayo road network.

After seeing the bad state of the roads in the city, he pointed out that work to rehabilitate them will start as soon as possible.

Major roads leading to the city centre such as Luveve, Khami, Old Khami and Matopos roads are in a deplorable state.