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BPRA weekend activities report: 26-27 January 2013
Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA)
January 28, 2013

This past weekend (26 - 27 January 2013) Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) held four consultative meetings in Nkulumane, Pumula North, Old Pumula and Luveve. The meetings provided platforms for residents to engage with their respective councillors on pertinent issues of service delivery and local governance. Representatives from the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) had also been invited to the meetings, but they were not able to attend the meetings.

The major issues discussed at the meetings included:

• The water crisis in Bulawayo - Councillors told residents that the water committee would be meeting on Wednesday 30 January 2013 to discuss the water crisis where a decision would be made to either reduce water shedding days or leave them at the current four days a week.
• Refuse collection - The councillors and the residents in attendance castigated residents for littering and illegal dumping of refuse. The issues of irregular collection of refuse by the local authority and the fact that residents have no bins were not raised. However councillors argued that BCC could only collect refuse twice every month due to unavailability of refuse compactors and shortage of funds.
• Road Maintenance - Speaking at the meeting held in Nkulumane, Mayor Thaba Moyo hinted that there was a need for roads in the city to be overhauled and new ones built. He overtly stated that patching of potholes was not working as the patching was washed away whenever rains began.
• Property Maintenance - Residents bemoaned the poor state of council property, including halls, arguing that BCC was neglecting its properties. Councillors responded by saying that there was a need for properties to be maintained, but the local authority was facing financial challenges because residents were unable to pay their bills due to the harsh economic climate prevailing in the country.
• By-laws on informal traders - Residents urged the local authority to relax some of its by-laws with regards to informal traders, arguing that high unemployment had left most residents reliant on vending and small scale trading. They said the country was in an abnormal situation, hence it was absurd to adhere to laws that were crafted for normal situations. They thus requested that municipal police be lenient on residents trading without licenses.

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