Online Reporter
Raymond Jaravaza [email protected]
THREE years after a devastating fire destroyed the Mpopoma Outspan furniture manufacturing complex in Bulawayo, overcrowding has once again emerged at the informal industrial hub, with traders warning that the congested conditions could spark another disaster.
The complex, popularly known as Espamprikeni, was gutted by fire in January 2023, leaving more than 200 traders counting their losses and struggling to rebuild their businesses and livelihoods.
The blaze, which allegedly started from a spark within the complex, spread rapidly through highly flammable materials such as timber, upholstery and leather used in the manufacture of beds, sofas and wardrobes.
Established in the early 1990s, the complex had grown into a major furniture manufacturing hub, housing more than 200 carpenters and supporting over 400 jobs.
However, the number of traders operating at the site has since risen to nearly 300, fuelling concerns over space constraints, sanitation and fire safety.
The Mpopoma Welfare Development Trust, which represents traders at the complex, has raised the concerns in a letter addressed to the Bulawayo Metropolitan Province district development officer.
According to the trust, traders have begun occupying a strip of land adjacent to the complex in an effort to accommodate the growing number of businesses.
The land forms part of a Bulawayo City Council-owned recreational park designated for local communities in Mpopoma, but it has reportedly become overgrown with grass and bushes.
Despite the expansion, the additional space has failed to ease congestion at Espamprikeni, the trust says.
“In January 2023, the Mpopoma Outspan Market was gutted by fire. In the post-mortem of the inferno, it was discovered that overcrowding was the cause of the fire,” wrote the trust’s director, Mr Jackson Sibanda.
“Three and a half years down the line, the City of Bulawayo has not yet allocated us the stand, citing lack of funds to service the stand and as a result the situation has deteriorated due to natural growth of business at Espamprikeni.”
Mr Sibanda said traders had secured two stands in the Kelvin Industrial Area but had failed to relocate because the site lacked essential infrastructure, including ablution facilities and running water.
He said the absence of basic services had forced some traders to relieve themselves in a nearby stream, while others were operating outside the complex’s perimeter fence.
“We secured stands number 19723 and 19724 in Kelvin Industrial area, but council declined a Government offer to fund a project to expand our operations at the new site. We wanted to turn the new site into a manufacturing hub while Espamprikeni remains our showroom where customers can come and buy their furniture,” said Mr Sibanda.
He said traders supported plans to develop the site into a fully-fledged manufacturing hub but remained concerned by worsening overcrowding and unsanitary conditions.
“While it is now an industrial site with over 300 traders that process over 30 tonnes of timber per month brought from Mutare, we cannot ignore that we are once again sitting on a time bomb. If a fire breaks out again, we will lose everything that we have worked for.
“We have become Bulawayo’s largest furniture manufacturing factory, supplying furniture as far as Plumtree, Gwanda, Hwange, among other places, but the unhygienic conditions at Espamprikeni cannot be ignored,” he said.
Small-scale entrepreneurs operating at the complex said the worsening conditions were making it increasingly difficult to conduct business.
Mr Luke Moyo, one of the pioneers of Espamprikeni, said the 2023 inferno had forced many traders to borrow money from microfinance institutions to restart operations.
“I’m one of the pioneers here at Espamprikeni since 1996 so this place is my life. After we lost everything in 2023, some of us borrowed money from microfinance companies to rebuild our business. Every day I try not to think of the possibility of another fire breaking out and destroying all our merchandise and machinery again,” he said.
A member of the Mpopoma Outspan Association said the current site could no longer accommodate the growing number of traders operating there.
“This space has become too small for the 300 members who are now working here and we need a new, bigger site. Maybe Government can chip in and assist us in that regard,” said the member.
Traders are calling for the development of a properly serviced manufacturing hub in the Kelvin Industrial Area, which they say would allow them to expand production while retaining Espamprikeni as a showroom and retail centre.
Bulawayo City Council had not responded to questions by the time of going to print.Eprate nimin reiu
