City council in hot soup over service stations

Trust Freddy, Herald Correspondent

Harare City Council is allegedly violating regulations by allowing property owners to use their stands for service stations close to houses and flats, disregarding the required 400-metre distance, the Commission of Inquiry delving into the council’s activities has heard.

This follows the mushrooming of service stations, some without approval, being built in the midst of or close to residential areas, posing serious public safety concerns since diesel, petrol, and paraffin are highly flammable.

The Commission of Inquiry heard yesterday that several service stations had been built in the heart of residential areas next to houses and flats.

Works and Town Planning Committee chairperson Councillor Takudzwa Dzumbunu admitted before the commission that there has been a lack of oversight regarding construction of service stations.

When questioned about the City Council’s inaction on these illegalities, Cllr Dzumbunu claimed that property owners were exploiting a loophole by changing land use to service stations.

However, Mr Thabani Mpofu, who is leading evidence from witnesses, quickly countered that Cllr Dzumbunu’s statement was misleading, emphasising that property owners must obtain permission from authorities before making such changes, which can then be approved or rejected.

Mr Mpofu highlighted three specific service stations built within residential areas but warned that they represented only a small fraction of a larger problem.

“There is one that is currently under construction and near completion, along West Road in Avondale. I would say it is about 100 metres from the West and Suffolk intersection and then less than 500 metres from there, we have another service station at the corner of Sydney Malunga Road (formerly Argyle Road) and West Road. Now both service stations are what would colloquially be called smack bang in the middle of residential areas.

“Those two service stations are neighbours to residential areas. One of them is a neighbour to residential areas on three sides, the other one on two and these are just two that I have chosen,” said Mr Mpofu.

Cllr Dzumbunu revealed that despite not receiving any formal complaints, she had been tagged by concerned citizens on social media platform X regarding the proliferation of service stations.

She also told the commission that fuel stations must be not built within a radius of 400 to 500 metres from residential areas, adding that the minimum stand size for a fuel station should be 2 000 square metres, 0,2ha.

However, she said she was unaware of the specific circumstances surrounding the establishment of these two Avondale fuel stations and requested time to review the records.

The commission excused Cllr Dzumbunu to retrieve the records, which would shed light on the circumstances surrounding service stations in residential areas.

She is expected to appear before the commission with the requisite documentation today.

Of late, investors have been stampeding to set up service stations given the rise in the country’s vehicle population, which was estimated at 1,5 million in December 2022, compared to 1,2 million in 2014.

Owners also like the fact that fuel is largely bought in US dollars and the profits possible on modest investment. In some cases, the distance between two fuel stations is as short as 100 metres and while that is likely to be in order in a suburban shopping centre it packs them in too tightly outside such centres.

Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) statistics indicate that, in line with increases in the national vehicle fleet, fuel consumption rose to almost 1,2 billion litres during the 11 months to November 2021, compared to about one billion litres in 2020.

Over the years, the country has witnessed a rapid increase in the number of fuel stations, with some being built in questionable spaces like road servitudes, residential areas and even close to water sources.

Construction of service stations has been at its peak across the country, with regulators issuing over 3 300 licences over the past four years.

Last year, ZERA arrested 292 individuals who were already operating illegally and others who were setting up shop without authorisation.

ZERA chief executive officer Mr Eddington Mazambani recently told our sister paper, The Sunday Mail, that they are working on a cocktail of measures to bring order to the petroleum sector.

Mr Mazambani said ZERA was largely being affected by staff shortages, adding that they were unable to effectively check on compliance nationwide.