adminNyemudzai Kakore Herald Correspondent—
Harare City Council might be forced to demolish a section of the Mbare Sunshine Bazaar Mall along Simon Mazorodze Road to improve the drainage system following flooding that saw residents losing property worth thousands of dollars.
Sources said the complex, which was constructed at a cost of $3 million by Harare Sunshine Holdings in a partnership with a Lebanese group, El-Nour United Engineering for Construction and Commerce, caused blockages of some the drainage pipes.
“A section of the Mbare Sunshine Bazaar will be demolished to pave way for retrofitting of a new drainage system,” said the source.
The mall was built to cater for small business entrepreneurs selling their wares at undesignated places have brought more harm than good to the residents near the complex.
Addressing media at Mbirimi Street in Mbare yesterday Harare City Council chief engineer Jonathan Mutimukulu, dismissed claims that the complex was the reason behind the flash floods, saying the system had already been clogged.
He said the city was working tirelessly to avert another flooding by re-laying pipes, which were clogged and said by January 31, most of the works should have been completed.
“The surface run-off was there as it could be accommodated on this open space, which means that the underground pipes were already clogged by then. It is now visible because the water cannot flow because of the structure that was put at this place. We will now have to re-excavate the drains and open them up,” he said.
He said the intensity of this year’s rainy season had overwhelmed the city’s drainage system and catch pits, hence the city was now focusing on reducing the amount of run-off in Mbare.
“We had a serious problem of managing storm water run-off from this section of Mbare, this is the lowest point we have and we had to improve the inland,” he said.
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