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HOW many Cabinet ministers must blast Bulawayo City Council over the chaos, lawlessness and filth in the city centre for council to finally act?

Well, council will never act, and we know why. Chaos is fertile ground for corruption. A corrupt council thrives in a corrupt environment.

The buses that we have been making noise about over their disorderly conduct and blatant disregard of road regulations and council by-laws are an eyesore for most of us, but a goldmine for some.

Bulawayo Central Police Station

These buses are parking illegally between Leopold Takawira Avenue and Sixth Avenue, opposite Bulawayo Central Police Station, along Fife Street, and near Tredgold Building. Some have since taken over Leopold Takawira Avenue Extension, parking outside Eveline High School, Bulawayo Theatre and the Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe.

The Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe was officially opened in 1964 and is one of the best in southern Africa. It is famous for displaying the second-largest mounted elephant in the world.

This is a national tourist attraction which would be respected and protected in other countries. But in Bulawayo, it is now an illegal pick-up and drop-off point for buses. What type of a right-minded city council allows such nonsense?

The activities of the illegal bus operators have even attracted vendors who in turn, litter around Central and Centenary Parks, as well as the museum.

Bulawayo Theatre

No wonder why Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu is the latest minister to slam Bulawayo City Council for failing to bring an end to illegal activities in the city centre.

Bulawayo, a city that was once one of the best organised and cleanest in southern Africa, is now a jungle of chaos.
Addressing BCC officials, residents’ associations, representatives from the transport sector and captains of industry during a meeting on environmental management in Bulawayo last Friday, Minister Ndlovu blamed BCC for allowing lawlessness on the streets, which the local authority is now struggling to contain.

“There is a need for Bulawayo City Council to tackle issues around open drinking spaces, which is rampant. You have people drinking beer in those places and leaving empty bottles strewn in the streets,” he said.

“Council should be firm when it comes to dealing with lawlessness. There is also a 24-hour bus rank at the Chicken Inn near Tredgold Building. It is a worrying trend to note that the local authority is allowing an illegal rank to flourish, which is a looming health disaster given that there are no ablution facilities.”

Last year, Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo directed BCC to strengthen its by-laws so that the local authority can effectively deal with the congestion menace in the city centre.

Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu

In September, Minister of State for Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Judith Ncube had to confront unruly kombi crews who had blocked traffic along Sixth Avenue. This is because council has failed to do its work.

This is because council refuses to do its work so that bus operators, kombi crews and bottle store owners pay bribes.
Bulawayo is indeed a city that has gone to the dogs.