Some motorists in Bulawayo woke up to find their cars towed away by the city council which say they were parked outside car parks.
A similar operation was carried out in New Magwegwe suburb
and on Sunday night the blitz shifted to Nketa, Emganwini and Nkulumane
suburbs.
While residents have been caught by surprise, council has
said the operation is part of enforcing long standing by-laws that govern the
parking of vehicles in undesignated areas overnight.
Some of the vehicles at the BCC impound facility along
Khami Road.
Vehicle owners in affected suburbs who parked outside car
park perimeter fences, near shopping centres and fuel stations woke up to the
news that their cars had been towed away.
“The Bulawayo City Council will continue to enforce
standing by-laws such as the one that speaks to the improper parking of
vehicles in undesignated places overnight,” Deputy Mayor, Councillor Edwin
Ndlovu, said in an interview.
“The council will not give notices when enforcing standing
by-laws. A notice before enforcement is only sent out when the by-law is new.
“We encourage residents to abide by the by-laws of the city
all the time to avoid being caught on the wrong side of the law,” he added.
Some of the by-laws stipulate that vehicles, which are
abandoned are given a 10-day notice to be removed. If they are not removed, the
council will tow them to a secure compound at the owner’s expense.
Vehicles that are dirty, have punctured tires, or are
unlicensed are also removed to a secure compound at the owner’s expense while
push carts are not allowed in the central business area (CBD). Violators are
fined while their push carts are impounded.
The city council has said it also publishes a list of
immobilised vehicles in a newspaper and advises the owners to claim them within
30 days after which the vehicle, if not claimed, will be sold at a public
auction.
Chronicle yesterday spoke to a car park owner, Mr Moxen
Moyo, of Nketa 6 suburb who said some vehicle owners have been avoiding using
his facility opting to use a “cheap” alternative, parking at a nearby fuel
station.
“The security guard at the fuel station has been charging
the vehicle owners R10 overnight and some have been avoiding using a registered
car park in order not to pay the US$1 that we charge per night,” he said.
“This morning, those that park their cars at the fuel
station woke up to find the vehicles gone.
“We operate legal authorised car parks, we have employees
and bills to pay and it’s unfair when vehicle owners opt to park their cars
near shops and fuel stations where they are charged minimal fees,” said Mr
Moyo.
A vehicle owner, Mr Dumisani Mlilo, said he was told that
his car was towed away in the wee hours of Monday morning.
“My car is being kept at the BCC impound yard along Khami
Road, but I have no idea how much the council will charge in order to release
it, “ he said.
A BCC security guard manning the main gate at the impound
facility said around 35 cars were brought in on Sunday night and early Monday
morning.
“We have a list of all the cars that were brought here so the vehicle owner must tell us the car registration number, we confirm if the car is here and he or she pays a fine,” said the security guard. Chroncile
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