Online Reporter
Ivan Zhakata
Herald Correspondent
BARELY three weeks after President Mnangagwa declared Glen View Area 8 Home Industry Complex a state of disaster following a fire that razed part of the facility, another devastating blaze has gutted a section of the market, leaving traders facing heavy losses.
The inferno, which broke out yesterday, destroyed furniture workshops, carpentry stalls and stockpiles of timber and upholstery materials.
Although no casualties were reported, property worth thousands of dollars was reduced to ashes, deepening the economic wounds of traders still struggling to recover from the July blaze. Eyewitnesses said the fire spread rapidly, fuelled by the highly flammable materials crammed into the complex.
Despite fire fighters’ swift response, their efforts were hampered by poor access routes and inadequate hydrants.
The Glen View Area 8 complex, one of Zimbabwe’s largest informal industrial hubs, has a long history of fire outbreaks.
Thousands of artisans depend on the site for livelihoods, producing furniture and related goods that supply both local and regional markets.
Harare City Council’s chairperson of the Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Committee, Councillor Denford Ngadziore, said the latest blaze reinforced the urgent need to modernise the facility and relocate vulnerable traders to safer structures.
“This is a tragic setback for hard-working traders who depend on this complex for survival,” he said.
“I want to commend the Government’s swift intervention following the last fire and the commitment towards constructing new, safer structures for our SMEs. Relocation is no longer a debate; it is a necessity if we are to protect jobs and lives.”
He said the council was working hand-in-hand with the Government and SMEs associations to ensure that affected traders were not left destitute during the relocation exercise.
“Our priority is to safeguard livelihoods. The planned relocation is not meant to displace traders, but to give them a secure, modern environment in which to operate. We cannot continue counting losses year after year,” Cllr Ngadziore said.
Traders expressed frustration and said most of them had lost both stock and raw materials purchased on credit.
“I had just bought timber worth US$2 000 on loan, and everything is gone,” said Mr Tatenda Moyo, a carpenter.
“We appreciate the Government’s plans to relocate us, but we need this be done urgently.”
Following the July fire, President Mnangagwa’s disaster declaration unlocked emergency resources to rebuild and rehabilitate the complex.
Authorities are now expected to roll out a detailed relocation framework, with proposals for industrial parks to replace the ageing, fire-prone complex.
For many traders, the latest fire is both a painful blow and a reminder of the urgent need for better infrastructure.
