Illegal car parks, brick moulders warned
People operating illegal car parks, car sales and moulding bricks on road servitudes have been advised by the Chitungwiza Municipality to stop operations forthwith or risk being arrested.
This comes after the mushrooming of illegal car parks, car sales and brick moulders on road servitudes in the town, making roadsides an eyesore.
In a statement, acting town clerk Dr Tonderai Kasu said: “Reference is made to the uncontrolled mushrooming of illegal car parks, car sales and brick moulding along road servitudes that has reached alarming levels in Chitungwiza.
“It is in this regard that council is strongly warning those conducting these illegal activities to cease operations forthwith. If there is failure to heed this call, the perpetrators are going to be arrested and prosecuted.”
Chitungwiza plans to conduct a joint operation with other security arms to bring order and sanity in the town.
Those whose are operations are above board have been ordered to furnish council with supporting documents for a verification process.
“The wanton disregard of council by-laws has witnessed the spiralling of illegal car parks and traffic obstruction making life difficult for motorists.
‘Therefore, it is high time that such activities come to an end,” said Dr Kasu.
He also bemoaned rampant illegal sand and quarry abstraction taking place in the town, where poachers are responsible for land deformation and degradation.
Said Dr Kasu: “These people, whenever they abstract sand, do not rehabilitate the land and this is a cause for concern. It is against this background that all illegal activities should be brought to a halt and going against this notice will result in fines associated with each activity, while trucks being used illegally to transport sand are going to be impounded.”
The intervention by Chitungwiza comes after the Provincial Development Coordinator Mr Tafadzwa Muguti recently expressed concern over the rise in sand and quarry abstraction across the province.
Harare Development Provincial coordinator Mr Tafadzwa Muguti recently said rising demand for bricks in the country has seen an increase in sand poaching.
He said many of the informal brick making and sand sales businesses were disregarding mining and council by-laws as they are destroying riverbeds and digging holes almost everywhere without care or remorse.
Mr Muguti said laws should provide for mining claims for all brick making companies with clear guidelines on how to resuscitate the land back to its original state after one has exhausted the resource in question.
“Harare has many places, which are now inhabitable due to craters everywhere endangering livestock and people. Let me pronounce that it is time for the Harare citizens to rise and protect our wetlands, water bodies and recreational spaces within our communities.”
Mr Muguti said people must continue to engage with the Government, while holding it to account and all those voted into office for their role or ineffectiveness in addressing the plight of communities.-herald.co.zw
