adminBlessings Chidakwa Municipal Correspondent
It is 5am on a Saturday, there is already some activity on the streets of Epworth although it is still relatively quiet as most people are still indoors.
Suddenly the silence is broken by the voice of a woman shouting “Cobra, cobra” at the top of her voice to attract the attention of residents to the homemade polish that she is carrying in a bucket on her head and in another that she is holding in her hand.
One or two residents come rushing out to buy the polish which is either brick-red or black.
This is the noise that residents, especially those in high-density suburbs across the country have become accustomed to over the years.
Overtime, the idea of touting to sell products has now found its way into the central business districts.
It is now common to see vendors shouting at the top of their voices on the streets to attract the attention of potential customers.
The advent of technology has also allowed some vendors to use loud hailers to advertise their products, and as one walks across central Harare and other urban centres, you can hear amplified voices announcing prices and/or efficacy of certain products, notably pesticides.
What most of the vendors and some of the residents are not aware of is that making such noise is an offence.
One local authority has taken up the issue and is doing something about it. After being inundated with complaints from residents over noisy vendors, the Epworth Local Board recently gazetted a series of by-laws against noise pollution.
The dormitory town published a number of by-laws a fortnight ago including the Epworth (Noise) By-laws, 2019.
The by-laws make it an offence to “operate or cause or permit to be operated any wireless, loudspeaker, gramophone, record-player, amplifier, musical instrument or similar device to disturb or interfere with the rest, peace or tranquillity of any occupier of premises in the neighbourhood or in any public street, or in any public place”.
Grass cutting services
The by-laws also restrict people from, “ringing bells, sounding a horn, blowing whistles or a musical or other instrument or shouting in any public street or public place or in the neighbourhood for the purpose of hawking, selling or distributing any article or thing whatsoever, or for advertising any entertainment, to the annoyance, disturbance or inconvenience or in any public place or in any pubic street”.
The local authority has also set out stipulated times for people who offer grass cutting services to curb noise emitted by their machines.
According to the proposed by-laws, “no person shall operate, or cause or permit to be operated, on any land zoned for residential, general residential or special residential purposes in any scheme, any power-driven grass-cutting machine before the hour of 8am or between the hours of 2pm and 4 pm of after the hour of 6pm on any day.”
In addition, Epworth residents are also banned from “keeping, or cause or permit to be kept, any bird or animal which, by reason of continued or repeated crowing, screeching, barking or whining, or other noisy or troublesome habits, causes annoyance, disturbance or inconvenience to any occupier of premises in the neighbourhood or public place”.
The authority can specifically prohibit any particular person from making noise, and if they do not comply they can be jailed for up to 12 months.
Online Reporter