HARARE mayor Jacob Mafume yesterday said several buildings in the capital were death traps and facing closure because of dilapidation.
Mafume made the remarks after visiting a building that
collapsed in the capital on Saturday afternoon, killing Yolanda Hodzi of
Norton and injuring six.
The building crumbled in Harare’s central business district
at corner Chinhoyi and Bank Streets.
The cause of the collapse is still unknown with
investigations underway.
In an interview with NewsDay, Mafume apologised for the
tragedy.
“We are sorry for the tragedy,” he said.
“I am very sad about what happened. It is very unfortunate,
we had issued a notice just a few weeks ago about the state of buildings in the
capital.
“We will inspect them with a view to close those that do
not meet standards and give a timeline to revamp the buildings so that in
future we do not record such tragedies.”
Last week, Harare town
clerk Hosiah Chisango issued an ultimatum to owners of dilapidated
buildings.
“The City of Harare is hereby giving notice to all property
owners and occupants of buildings in the Central Business District (CBD) and
those outside of the CBD, to renew or regenerate their buildings and/or
properties either through repairs, refurbishments and/or repainting,” the
notice read.
Chisango cited model building by-laws on the status of
buildings and their occupation.
“No person shall allow any building constructed upon
premises of which he is the owner or occupier to become (a) a danger to the
health of persons occupying or using the building, or to the health of the
public or (b) the source of unpleasant fumes, smoke or odours, or (c) unsightly
or a disfigurement to the neighbourhood, or (d) in any other way offensive or
embarrassing to the people living or working upon the premises or in the
neighbourhood,” he said. Newsday
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