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Raymond Jaravaza, [email protected]

MOTORISTS have expressed shock after the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) raided and towed away vehicles that were parked outside car parks, at shopping centres and fuel service stations on Sunday night up to early yesterday morning.

A similar operation was carried out in New Magwegwe suburb and on Sunday night the blitz shifted to Nketa, Emganwini and Nkulumane suburbs.

While residents have been caught by surprise, council has said the operation is part of enforcing long standing by-laws that govern the parking of vehicles in undesignated areas overnight.

Some of the vehicles at the BCC impound facility along Khami Road.

Vehicle owners in affected suburbs who parked outside car park perimeter fences, near shopping centres and fuel stations woke up to the news that their cars had been towed away.

“The Bulawayo City Council will continue to enforce standing by-laws such as the one that speaks to the improper parking of vehicles in undesignated places overnight,” Deputy Mayor, Councillor Edwin Ndlovu, said in an interview.

“The council will not give notices when enforcing standing by-laws. A notice before enforcement is only sent out when the by-law is new.

“We encourage residents to abide by the by-laws of the city all the time to avoid being caught on the wrong side of the law,” he added.

Some of the by-laws stipulate that vehicles, which are abandoned are given a 10-day notice to be removed. If they are not removed, the council will tow them to a secure compound at the owner’s expense.

Vehicles that are dirty, have punctured tires, or are unlicensed are also removed to a secure compound at the owner’s expense while push carts are not allowed in the central business area (CBD). Violators are fined while their push carts are impounded.

The city council has said it also publishes a list of immobilised vehicles in a newspaper and advises the owners to claim them within 30 days after which the vehicle, if not claimed, will be sold at a public auction.

Chronicle yesterday spoke to a car park owner, Mr Moxen Moyo, of Nketa 6 suburb who said some vehicle owners have been avoiding using his facility opting to use a “cheap” alternative, parking at a nearby fuel station.

“The security guard at the fuel station has been charging the vehicle owners R10 overnight and some have been avoiding using a registered car park in order not to pay the US$1 that we charge per night,” he said.

“This morning, those that park their cars at the fuel station woke up to find the vehicles gone.

“We operate legal authorised car parks, we have employees and bills to pay and it’s unfair when vehicle owners opt to park their cars near shops and fuel stations where they are charged minimal fees,” said Mr Moyo.

A vehicle owner, Mr Dumisani Mlilo, said he was told that his car was towed away in the wee hours of Monday morning.

“My car is being kept at the BCC impound yard along Khami Road, but I have no idea how much the council will charge in order to release it, “ he said.

A BCC security guard manning the main gate at the impound facility said around 35 cars were brought in on Sunday night and early Monday morning.

“We have a list of all the cars that were brought here so the vehicle owner must tell us the car registration number, we confirm if the car is here and he or she pays a fine,” said the security guard.

The BCC communications department had, by press time, not responded to questions sent by Chronicle.