Chronicle Editor
Bongani Ndlovu, Chronicle Reporter
OVERGROWN trees and grass in and around Bulawayo are posing potential danger to people and motorists.
Council is struggling to cut the vegetation due to understaffing and broken-down machinery.
Parking motor vehicles under the shade of trees is always a risky choice, more so during the rainy season. Over the year, trees like the jacaranda have had branches falling off, sometimes on cars, buildings and on pavements.
Added to the danger posed by trees, driving towards intersections around the city needs motorists to exercise extreme caution as the grass is now very tall in some areas. Collisions are most likely to happen because of the tall grass that is hogging corners at some intersections.
At the T-junction of the Harare-Bulawayo highway and Hume Park Road after Carmel Primary School is one such intersection as the road is filtering into a highway.
On the road side, there is also tall grass that is a danger especially for pedestrians, who can be ambushed by robbers during the day or at night.
According to recent Bulawayo City Council’s (BCC) minutes last year in December, in the Report of the Environmental Management and Engineering Services Committee councillors asked why trees and grass were not being cut.
The local authority said it has challenges in cutting grass and pruning trees around the city. In response, the City’s Housing Director Mr Dictor Khumalo said lack of tractors to cut tall grass was a challenge.
“Lack of tractors was a challenge. The department is under-capacitated which made it difficult to manage the cutting down of trees and grass cutting,” read the minutes.
Last year in December, a huge tree fell and blocked Harare Road, just after the Matsheumhlophe river bridge. The tree caused a traffic jam on the highway that is always busy.
Taking a chance, some residents started taking some branches from the tree for firewood. After an hour or so, BCC employees removed the tree from the road and traffic moved smoothly thereafter.
Bulawayo United Residents Association (BURA) chairperson Mr Winos Dube appealed to council to cut the tall grass and urged residents to help by cutting grass in their areas.
“What is clear is that grass needs to be cut and be sure that it is cleared so that those driving and pedestrians can have a clear road, so that they can walk to wherever with a clear path.
This is the responsibility of the local authority and they must take a leading step in the clearing of the tall grass. If council could engage the community and they do some work,” said Mr Dube.
“At the same time, I want to appeal to the residents that on our own where need arises, we could also clear the grass in some of these areas, especially in our communities. That is key because under these tough times everyone should take a role in doing some of these things.”
In an interview, Ms Bongiwe Ngwenya, BCC Corporate Communications Officer said the local authority is working on tree pruning around the city, but if a tree falls in one’s yard, council will not attend to it.
“The City of Bulawayo has two groups of tree cutters, one in the Eastern and the other in the Western areas. These groups work on a daily programmed routine outlined as follows: Attend to public reports on trees, do trees inspection conditions around the city, cut down dangerous trees on council land not on private properties, prune tree branches that are dangerous not on private properties and attend to fallen trees (not on private properties),” said Ms Ngwenya.
“We are aware of the general life spans of the available trees. The jacaranda can last up to 200 years in pristine conditions. On average they last between 50 and 60 years depending on the environment.”
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