adminAbel Zhakata Senior Reporter
A GROUP of businesspeople in Mutare have objected to the establishment and allocation of vending stalls at a parking area near their premises, saying council’s decision was disastrous to their operations.
The affected entrepreneurs that operate in “D” Avenue at the famous Moto-Moto area have since written to Mutare City Council through their lawyers — Gonese and Ndlovu Legal practitioners — saying council’s actions were injudicious and administratively flawed.
These include City Centre Hotel, Manicaland Bookshop, Mums Homes, Top Gear Fashions and Hair Mart.
In a letter dated July 3, 2015 written to the Town Clerk, Mr Obert Muzawazi, a copy of which this paper has in possession, the businesses said the decision to allocate vending stalls at the parking area was made without consultations.
“Our clients are businesspeople or business concerns operating along or D Avenue. Our clients are concerned that you have decided to turn the whole of D Avenue into a temporary flea market during weekends.
“The whole road has been marked and pegged for allocation of vending sites and spaces.
“Your decision to turn the road into a flea market has obvious disastrous consequences to our clients’ operation and businesses. Other than that, it also appears that no formal consultations or invitations for objections were ever done with the affected business community or other members of the public.
“The decision was therefore made without affording our clients a chance to place before council their objections and concerns. Your conduct in this regard was injudicious and administratively flawed. At law you were expected and mandated to solicit their views first.”
They said there were no ablution services to cater for the increased number of people that will flock the proposed flea market.
“We are also informed that in arriving at your decision you did not consider the fact that the flea market operatives will attract large groups of people. No planning for or provisions of ablution facilities was ever done.
“The ultimate result will be that our clients’ ablution facilities will be overwhelmed. In any event such planning ought to have been done before the decision. The need result is that your decision to turn D Avenue into a flea market is irrational and unreasonable.
“It will create a health hazard.”
They argued that they operated a variety of businesses which require parking space for customers, patrons and guests.
“There is no alternative parking space which is going to be created for patrons and delivery vehicles. The argument that the market will be carried out during the weekends deal a heavy blow to our business which operates briskly during weekends as patrons and guests take time to cool off . . . as registered businesses we contribute to the national fiscus as well as pay rates.
“It is not only unfair, but unlawful for council to strangle our business profits by establishing a flea market and expect us to pay the same amount for rates. It is on the basis of the highlighted points that we seek your office to put a halt to the proposed measures.
“Unless we receive a response which temporarily stays the establishment of the market, we shall be left with no option, but to proceed to the courts to protect our Constitutional rights.”
When contacted for comment, Mr Muzawazi said the businesses arguments were neither here nor there as council had the right to utilise land in a way it feels aid community development.
“We will engage them and hear their concerns regarding the issue, but what I can tell you is that we are the planning authority and we utilise the land they way we feel helps the community.
“As council, we are responding to a Government directive to bring sanity in the city concerning the issue of vendors. By coming up with those sites we have taken into consideration a lot of things and our main purpose is to ensure that sanity prevails,” he said.
Mutare mayor, Councillor Tatenda Nhamarare, said the local authority would stick to its position.
“There is no going back on allocating that parking area to vendors. That is our position and we are not going to change.
“We are going to talk with the affected businesspeople, but I don’t think that will change anything,” he said.
The local authority on Wednesday started allocating stalls to vendors in the city in a move meant to decongest the Central Business District.
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