Zimpapers Logo

 Lupane urban was much  cleaner and more manageable when it was still part of Kusile Rural Districit Council. 

Now, although a sprawling residential area, the provincial capital of Matabeleland North Province has degenerated into a dirty and unmanageable slum. 

Its immediate environs have become refuse dumping areas right round. Unserviced and vacant spaces within town itself and the residential areas have not been spared.

The common denominator is filth; pampers, human faeces, scrap metal heaps, plastic bags, alcohol from the shops, empty soft drinks containers, you name them, they are all over the Central Business District and the residential areas. 

Weekends are the noisiest days as religious sects congregate to “worship” playing drums, guitars, singing and screaming on top of their voices to be heard by  the Almighty God.

In the town itself alcohol is the main business and its consumption is the main pastime or diversion. 

Public drinking is a common activity and one cannot tell between a bottlestore and a shebeen as the former are turned into “cocktail bars” and these are the source of public drinking, immorality and generally creating unsanitary conditions and environmental pollution as drinkers throw caution and morals to the winds and urinate and even have sexual encounters in the lanes and in the thickets, animal-style.

At Lupane town there is overtrading in the “bottlestore” business to the extent that the only two cocktail bars which  truly answer to the name have business undermined by the so-called bottlestores which operate like shebeens, outside their business hours. 

In fact there are only two cocktail bars at Lupane urban:  Wisewaters and Country-side. 

The latter in particular is an upmarket cocktail bar, much better than some in the big towns. We also have a lovely spacious beergarden.

The big problem at the provincial capital is that there is no functional local authority to run its affairs. 

Anyone, even a technician or accountant or a religious graduate without local government experience can be appointed as officer (HOD) or acting town secretary as long as someone up in the ivory tower or even in the lower subordinate echelons knows you. 

Even the PA’s and DA offices do not care. There is also no local board to oversee management and formulate policies. 

They are supposed to be caretakers, they are employed full time elsewhere and they are not bona fide residents with any stake-holding in the town. And yet they receive allowances monthly.  

The residents of Lupane themselves … what a pity!  When people whom they do not know or whose bona fide they do not know are sworn in as caretakers or commissioners they attend the “ceremonies” in big numbers and they even clap hands even ululate instead of rejecting the imposed caretakers. 

These caretakers and the town secretaries are here from Monday to Friday otherwise they are not at Lupane for weeks on end as they will be attending “workshops” and spending the residents’ money and by so spending denying the residents service delivery.

Or they will be with their families elsewhere.

At the provincial capital land degradation is serious as motor vehicles drive everywhere and livestock range and graze everywhere unrestrained.  

The chair of the LLB is the only local caretaker but what a shame that she has been badly compromised. I suppose to most people personal interests become paramount.

Martin Stobart, Lupane.