Zimpapers Logo

Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief

Partitioning of shops by property owners has resulted in the increase of players in the retail industry in Gweru.

Glass moveable walls not only bring convenience and flexibility to retailers, they also entice customers into shops.

The City of Gweru is fast becoming the city of partitioned shops as the glass partitioning takes centre stage..

Private properties in Gweru are being subdivided and property owners pocketing much more than what they pay to the local authority monthly.

Council is losing out on building plan fees, business licence fees and penalties due to failure by property owners to regularise the partitions.

The council has received only six shop applications for glass partitioning and has approved four but most shops in the Central Business District (CBD) are being partitioned.

Most boutiques and shopping malls are operating without licences following unapproved partitioning of shops.

The old Blantyre store in Second Street, Lilian Fashions along Main Street, and even the Zesa offices along Sixth Street have been partitioned.

The old movie house Rainbow along fifth street has also been partitioned.

Besides that, there is a rise in strip malls whereby the stores are arranged in a row, with a sidewalk in front.

These have been developed as a unit and have large parking lots in front along Second Street.

Shoppers have now become accustomed to glass partitioning as evidenced by how they frequent the shops each passing day.

The mini shops created by shop owners legally or illegally are becoming popular destinations for shoppers as they are easily the preferred shopping areas as they cater to a variety of budgets.

In the glass partitions an assortment of goods are sold by different traders making it easier to compare prices.

In these shops one can find boutiques, salons, garment-making materials, electrical appliances, furniture, building materials, bedding, cellphone and accessories, spare parts, clothes among other things.

The goods found in the malls are mainly from South Africa, Zambia, Tanzania, Dubai and China.

Rentals in such malls are however expensive according to tenants.

The tenants said rentals are varying between US$100 and US$250 per person with some claiming that the rentals  can be as high US$500 per person per month.

“A glass moveable wall, which can be quickly opened and closed, removes all barriers between the walkway or shopping centre and the shop,” said a property owner Mr Mike Ncube from Gweru.

In his shop at Mkoba 6  shopping centre, Mr Ncube managed to create 10 glass partitions which accommodate 10 retailers.

“I used to run this shop specialising in groceries but after the Covid-19 pandemic when business was low, I was almost bankrupt. I visited Harare where I saw glass partitioning being the new thing,” said Mr Ncube.

He said when he returned he then partitioned his shop and now is collecting rentals from 10 retailers which has proved a good business decision.

At one building in the CBD, there are 20 different people dealing in different goods and services and yet the ablution and ventilation were never upgraded.

“We are 20 with different trades as it were. Each one of us can have three to four customers at once and the challenges will come when it gets stuffy. The ventilation wasn’t improved. The same with the ablution facilities,” said a tenant on condition of anonymity.

City of Gweru public relation officer Ms Vimbai Chingwaramusee said there was nothing wrong with partitioning buildings as long as council rules and regulations are met.

“Most of the owners who have done that have applied for change of use which we have since approved.  We, as a local authority actually support that move as it is a good way of accommodating small to medium enterprises which have become the most popular and common type of business. We are also working on building structures that accommodate small shops,” she said.

Ms Chingwaramusee said council conducts periodic health and fire inspections to ensure that the World Health Organisation (WHO) regulations are met as well as fire prevention standards.

“So far six shops applied for partitioning and four were approved. We are still looking into the other applications,” she said.

A shop owner said there was no need to rent out the whole 20 metres by 15 metres shop to one tenant when one could accommodate more tenants and make more money.

“We no longer need big and expensive shops for tenants. Tenants now prefer small specialised shops that sell specific goods. These small shops are actually catering for the needs of the market. I applied to the council and they approved. There are 10 tenants paying US$200 each per month,” he said on condition of anonymity.

Local Government and Public Works Deputy Minister Marian Chombo said property owners should apply to their respective local authorities for approval

She said before approval, the municipality should inspect the property and give guidelines on how the subdivisions should be carried out.