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Residents' Voices - Issue 56
Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA)
August 12, 2011

Ward 1 residents to work on retaining Bulawayo's standards

Residents from Ward 1 will this evening be awarded an opportunity to engage various stakeholders in a meeting that is expected to craft a way forward with regards to improving the Bulawayo City Centre. According to Ward 1 Councillor, Edward Manning, guests expected to address residents are Eric Bloch, an economist, Joseph James and Kucaca Phulu, lawyers, Dumisani Nkomo, the Chief Executive Officer of Habakkuk Trust and representatives from the rent board. The guests will address issues such as the crime rate, public lighting, uninhabited blocks, potholes and rental fees. Meanwhile the Ward 1 Councillor, Edward Manning, also intends on facilitating the selection of a committee made up of 20 who will work with him in ensuring and monitoring progress in the uplifting of Bulawayo's Central Business District. The meeting will be held today (Friday 12 August 2011) from 5 to 7pm at the Small City Hall.

Residents bemoan the health sector

The level of grime at state hospitals has reached an alarming level with residents in Bulawayo alleging that hospitals in the city are now infested with rodents that feed on corpses in mortuaries. It came to light that the mortuaries are a breeding ground for rodents as the morgues are largely dysfunctional due to rampant power cuts and unavailability of supplementary sources of electricity like generators and solar panels. Recently, a Bulawayo man who had been admitted at Mpilo Referral Hospital died after having reported that rodents had been eating away his right arm. It is still unclear as to whether the man died from the bites or the ailment that brought him into the hospital in the first place. However, the man's family is appalled by the situation and calling on the authorities to restore the health sector to its previous status of being one of the best in the region.

Empowerment of locals should be a priority

At a time when unemployment is rife, residents have encouraged business people to empower locals living in areas around their business premises by giving them preference when hiring workers. Residents said this could go a long way in giving the youth in the city something to do in light of the high unemployment in the country. The residents urged business people to hire locals to handle especially menial jobs that do not require expertise such as clearing land prior to construction. In the past, people in Bulawayo have complained that business owners overlook them when hiring staff, preferring people from outside the city, which has fuelled allegations of nepotism among business owners.

Residents engage ZESA

In the face of high tariffs charged by the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA), Nketa residents, under the auspices of the area's Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) Ward 25 Committee have come up with an innovative way to avoid being disconnected. The residents have mobilized themselves into four groups from the four squares in the area, namely Esporweni, Hanyani, Mthwakazi and Mgiqika to pay their electricity bills. The strategy is to collectively pay bills so that each family in each square only pays a minimum of $20. Thus for example one family can pay US$20, another $US30 and another US$50. At the end of the day the total is collected and paid at the same time, in a deal that means electricity is not disconnected from any households in the area with outstanding debts. ZESA apparently approves of the plan because it ensures that a large chunk of money is dropped into its coffers in one go. Receipts are given individually as usual and records of what individual households owe the parastal are not lost. This month, 71 households from Esporweni square put together $1140, while those from Mthwakazi square managed to collect $500 and $1100 was collected from Mgiqika square. Residents are working on creating relations with ZESA and coming up with measures of ensuring that every month an increasing number of residents contribute towards clearing their debt.

Visit the Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association fact sheet

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