BULAWAYO councillors have continued to expose their
penchant to grab properties, a move likely to set them on a collision course
with Government and residents.
In the last full council meeting held in the council
chambers on Wednesday, councillors approved an application by Ward 26
Councillor, Alderman Norman Hlabani to establish a sports bar in Emganwini.
This comes barely two months after the city’s Mayor, Councillor Solomon Mguni
was forced to give up on a controversial move to lease out a bottle store in
Njube.
The sub-committee on allocation of stands and properties
had initially rejected Clr Mguni’s application but this decision was overturned
under controversial circumstances by the finance and development committee,
before the issue was referred back to the sub-committee after residents raised
a red flag over the move.
In the latest development, Ald Hlabani wanted to establish
the sports bar claiming residents in Emganwini were now discerning consumers of
beer and they wanted decent places to drink from.
“It is our belief that many of them will not want to drink
while playing hide and seek with the police. Given a choice they would prefer a
legal establishment, within walking distance from their homes, where they can
relax with their friends and have the comforts of ablution facilities, indoor
games and satellite television to watch their favourite sport.
“They need an establishment which can provide a conducive
atmosphere for drinking while relaxing, thus the concept of a sports bar. This
development will create employment for Emganwini Township residents as it is
intended to use local people to reduce transport costs and to create a homely
atmosphere,” reads part of Ald Hlabani’s application.
He claimed that the sports bar would remove the drinking
fraternity from the public environment where they are not only illegal but also
a nuisance to the non-drinking members of the community.
“An inter-departmental committee meeting was convened on
the 10th of July 2019 and a site visit undertaken thereafter to deliberate on
the application. There were no objections from the departments to the
application in principle,” reads part of a council report on the matter.
During Wednesday’s full council meeting, the application
was passed without any discussions or objections, giving Ald Hlabani leeway to
establish the sports bar.
A couple of years ago, the Government had to dispatch an
investigation team to Bulawayo after it emerged that the city’s councillors
were dishing out properties among themselves. The investigation revealed that
out of the 29 councillors, then, only five had not been given any council
property to lease.
It was further revealed that when the councillors get the
properties they default in paying rates and rentals resulting in the properties
accruing debt, as council management could not take the route of evicting the
councillors, for fear of victimisation. Sunday News
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