THE Bulawayo’s central business district (CBD) resembled a
normal day as people thronged banks that opened yesterday as well as shops,
pharmacies and the market place with also a marked increase in vehicular
traffic.
With the hive of activity, one could be forgiven to assume
the lockdown period was over. President Mnangagwa extended the lockdown on
Sunday by two weeks to May 3 as Covid-19 cases are increasing.
As of Monday, 3 308 people had been tested for Covid-19 in
the country with three recorded deaths and two recoveries from 25 positive
cases recorded so far in the country.
In Bulawayo’s CBD yesterday, there were long queues at
banks and supermarkets, with forex remittance outlets arguably having the longest
queues.
At the markets, a lot of vendors came all out with their
boxes to stock up on fruits and vegetables for resale, while a lot of ordinary
people were buying fresh produce in bulk and sharing outside.
Police and the army had to be called to restore order at a
Western Union and MoneyGram queue at EcoBank at the corner of Fife Street and
9th Avenue when hundreds of people were demanding their diaspora remittances
from the bank.
Most Western Union branches and MoneyGram branches in the
city were closed as they reportedly had no money.
Banks re-opened for business yesterday and there were
winding queues at NMB, First Capital Bank, NBS, EcoBank and at CBZ.
At most queues people were not adhering to social
distancing rules.
Most people in queues said they had walked into the city
centre from various suburbs as there is no public transport open to
non-essential services staff.
At banks, clients who spoke to Chronicle said they had to
stand in long queues as they needed the cash for day-to-day expenses as
commodities were much cheaper when buying in cash as compared to using
electronic transactions. Also, people avoid bank or electronic transaction
charges when using cash.
For example, at Oceans Supermarket in the city, bread was
going for $21 cash and $30 using other payment options which also attracts
additional transaction charges.
“It’s better to just spend the whole day in the queue
knowing that at the end of the day I will buy five items with cash than swiping
for only three items at the shops. In Western areas, they charge you $120 for
2kg sugar when swiping but $80 if you are buying in cash. That is why we will
just stand in the queue. We are happy that the banks have since opened. We have
been suffering,” said Mr Thembani Ndlovu from Magwegwe North suburb.
People who queued for forex remittances said they were
struggling to get their money as most branches were closed, with the few open
ones reportedly offering “slow service”.
“We have been here since 7AM. We walked. We couldn’t be in
the Zupco bus and the police made us leave our car at Athlone Avenue and
continue on foot. They told us that they will close at 12PM, right now its way
past 11AM and the queue is still not moving. We need the money because we need
to eat,” said Mrs Nobuhle Matshazi from Sauerstown.
In a statement, Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector
Abednico Ncube said they had noted the high volumes of people trekking into the
city yesterday and they were going to act.
He said they had arrested some people but could not
immediately give the number of those arrested.
“While we understand that people need to restock on food
supplies and some people have genuine business in town, we still want to limit
the numbers and decongest the CBD. We will continue to work and our teams are
still working at the roadblocks. The high numbers of people arrested are not
necessarily a reflection that the people of Bulawayo are the rowdiest, but it
is a reflection of the effectiveness of the police force in the province. We
warn all those who continue to violate lockdown orders that they will be
arrested as we shall leave no stone unturned,” he said.
Speaking during a donations handover ceremony at Thorngrove
Infectious Diseases Hospital yesterday, Bulawayo mayor Councillor Solomon Mguni
said the public’s attitude on Covid-19 was worrying as there were many people
still defying lockdown regulations, putting themselves, their families and the
general public at risk.
The mayor said flattening the curve is a collective
responsibility and it needs everyone to avert the spread of Covid 19.
“It is saddening to note that the issue of social
distancing is still not being adhered to, especially in Bulawayo. Let us
protect each other to save lives and practice social distancing. I also need to
implore businesses operating this time to ensure that they do not expose people
to Covid-19. While hand sanitisers and washing of hands is encouraged, may we
also ensure that we discourage unnecessary loitering outside our premises,” he
said.
During the same occasion, the assistant director of the
Health Services Department Dr Khulamuzi Nyathi urged Bulawayo residents to
observe lockdown regulations and stay at home as the movement of people spreads
Covid-19. Chronicle
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