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- Houses close to railway lines, roads to be demolished
- We will ignore Govt directive — Mayor
- We will see who is more powerful — Minister
Vusumuzi Dube and Lackson Munkombwe Sunday News Reporters
A STORM is brewing between the Government and the Bulawayo City Council after the latter vowed to fight a directive for all structures built within 70 metres and 45 metres on either side of railway lines and roads to be demolished within 90 days. The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development last week gave owners of such buildings countrywide a 90-day ultimatum to pull down their structures or risk forced removal and prosecution.
However, the BCC has come out in defence of its residents saying as far as it is concerned all houses in the city were built following all laid down council by-laws hence there is no need for the structures to be demolished.
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development Cde Joram Gumbo, however, told Sunday News that when the time comes, it would become clear who is more powerful — the Government or council.
Areas in the city that could be affected by this directive include houses in Entumbane, Nguboyenja, Cowdray Park and Mahatshula, among others, which were constructed close to the railway line. Houses along the Bulawayo-Beitbridge road could be affected as they were constructed some metres from the highway.
In an interview with Sunday News, Bulawayo mayor Councillor Martin Moyo said they can not demolish houses which they had approved and had ensured all council by-laws were adhered to.
“We will ignore Government’s directive to destroy houses within such stipulated distance. As far as we are concerned, all houses in our city were constructed according to council by-laws. As council, we have a strict regime of assertion plan on where to erect structures. We do not allow construction of houses without council approval.
“Houses in Entumbane and Mpopoma are over 60 years old now, so people staying in those areas cannot be affected today because when we originally built their houses there they were approved and all by-laws were religiously followed,” said Clr Moyo.
He said only in the event that the houses were illegally constructed would they then move in to destroy them.
“Demolishing will only happen if those houses were illegally constructed but still as council we will look into each individual case before demolishing. Therefore, our residents should not panic,” said the mayor.
However, in an interview, Cde Gumbo said while council has its own by-laws it has to realise that Government has set standards and regulations which have to be followed.
“If the council thinks they are more powerful than the Government they should keep on saying what they are saying. Yes they have their by-laws but as Government we have our own laws which supersede every other laws in the land, so what the ministry said stands and my advice is that it should be taken seriously because after 90 days people will see that we were really serious.
“I should also warn people who are continuing constructing structures along these areas that they should stop immediately because they are otherwise putting their investments to waste because come the 90-day ultimatum we are surely moving in,” said Cde Gumbo.
In a statement, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development noted with concern the illegal erection and construction of structures within road and railway servitudes in contravention of the country’s laws and stipulated regulations.
“The Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development (Joram Gumbo) hereby, wishes to call on members of the public whose structures are within the road and rail servitudes to remove them within 90 days,” reads the statement.
Bongani Ndlovu