Moses Matenga
Just like several other markets in Harare, Glen View 8 complex has become the home of political fights pitting Zanu PF-linked space barons and the MDC Alliance-dominated Harare City Council.
Despite the MDC having won all but one parliamentary seat in the capital in the July 31 harmonised elections, Zanu PF-linked elements remain in charge of key money-making spaces in the city, including Mupedzanhamo, Siyaso, and Glen View 8.
Council spokesperson Michael Chideme has told the Business Times that the local authority was not collecting fees from some of the markets because of the space barons, hence the Council’s failure to service the markets and provide solutions in case of disaster.
“We absolutely have no access to Glen View 8,” Chideme said. “The space barons are not giving our market officers access. They are also stifling planning processes by the City Council which could minimise damage in the event of a disaster like fire.”
Chideme was responding to the fire outbreak on Monday that destroyed property worth millions of dollars in Glen View 8 where thousands of beds, wardrobes, sofas, and other household goods manufactured there went up in smoke.
A day after the Glen View inferno, fire also broke out at Siyaso market in Mbare. Six vehicles were destroyed.
This prompted Linda Masarira, the opposition MDC-T spokesperson, to wonder aloud on her Twitter handle if the militant members of the main opposition party, MDC Alliance, were not involved in the recent fire outbreaks in the country.
“Could this be the work of some unruly elements [of the MDC Alliance] who went for training by the Serbians in neighbouring Southern African countries during the election period,” Masarira posted on his Twitter account.
Taking her bewilderment a tad further, Masarira again twittered: “Kadoma Edgars and surrounding buildings in Kadoma town gutted by fire a few minutes ago. Glen View furniture industry was gutted by fire as well earlier today. The frequency of these fires is mind-boggling. It seems like there is a deliberate, planned dilemma action going on.”
Masarira was referring to the MDC Alliance militant wing, the Vanguard, whose members, she implied in her Twitter post, were sent for military training by some Serbians in an unnamed Southern African country in the run-up to the 31 July harmonised elections.
In recent weeks, apart from the two fire outbreaks at Glen View 8 and Siyaso market (both in Harare), there have been fire outbreaks at Mpilo Hospital in Bulawayo, and Edgars and Jet Stores in Kadoma.
Regarding the Harare fires, observers said if there were proper working conditions at the markets and proper facilities controlled by the Council, the damage could have been avoided or minimised.
Instead, space barons have haphazardly allocated land and allowed all sorts of business to flourish in several markets, without proper planning.
Clever Mafoti, the City of Harare Fire Brigade divisional officer, said there were no fire points and fire extinguishers at the Glen View 8 complex, a situation that exposes the Council for not doing its work.
“That site is earmarked for redevelopment with a financial institution to develop an upmarket home industry,” a defensive Chideme told Business Times. “We hope the bank will now come in so that we actualise the deal.”
There is a high population of not only people, but material stocked in huge quantities in Glen View 8, posing a danger in case of an emergency.
The Harare mayor, Herbert Gomba, conceded that there was toxic politics surrounding the complex.
“The problem is that up to the end of last year, the politics was too much and the Council had no say in what went on at the complex,” the mayor said. “There is an urgent need for the Council to assume full control of the complex and then invest on a proper structure.”
Council sources said space barons claiming to be connected to the ruling Zanu PF party were behind the politics at the complex that has created a lawless environment, leading to threats to human life and property.
Willias Madzimure, the MDC Alliance MP for Kambuzuma, blamed the Harare City Council for failing to take charge of the complex.
“The people who benefit from Glen View 8 are not those who are working there. They are the people who are outside [meaning the space barons],” Madzimure said. “I was there and I realised the seriousness of the matter. Some of the young men and women who work there lost properties worth over US$30,000 per individual and it is sad.
“The problem is that there is chaos, there is no regard for regulations or anyone’s control. It just started with people dishing out land and the City Council turning a blind eye. They are powerless but I don’t see any reason for the Council not to have any powers over land at Glen View 8.”
Madzimure continued: “There are no safety features and pipes to ensure that the fire brigade can access water in case of a fire. They need to take an audit on who owns what [at Glen View 8] and have data for proper planning.”
Investigations show that a group of space barons collect various sums of money from individuals and allocate them space without proper facilities, even though they charge them between $300 and $350 a month.
“On the basis of the $300 charge, the one who is paying the amount sublets the space to other people. So for a small space, you will find more than five people operating there. In such cases, if there is a fire outbreak, the loss is huge,” said one of the operators.
Recently, the City of Harare learnt that there were 3,000 tables at Siyaso and 1,500 at Mupedzanhamo where a tenant pays $300 a month to space barons believed to be Zanu PF officials, yet fails to pay $61 to the Council.
Business Times was told that the 1,500 tables are divided into two or three compartments, and each tenant pays more than $300 to the Zanu PF officials.
