adminLovemore Zigara, Midlands Correspondent
GWERU City Council has threatened a blitz on tuckshops which are operating illegally as well as some which are operating outside their trading licences.
A letter signed by one S Khupe who is the environmental health officer for the local authority to one of the tuck shop owners confirmed the impending blitz.
“I find on making an inspection of your premises situated at … and which you are the owner/agent/occupier/licencee that the closure order given on the 31st of August.
“You are still operating without a trading licence and health registration certificate as in order to remedy the above defects.
“I have to ask you to vacate the premises and stop operating pending prosecution procedures by putting the above work in hand at an early date.
You will obviate the necessityof my taking any further action in the matter,” reads part of the letter dated September 29.
However, the move has been met with stiff resistance from tuckshop owners who accuse some recently-elected councillors of pushing the same agenda of expelled MDC-T councillors.
“We have people like Silas Furo (Zanu-PF’s Ward 11 councillor) who is pushing the agenda of Albert Chirau who wanted tuck shops to be destroyed in 2014 to serve his own interests. The decision was later reversed because it was counter-productive because Chirau wanted to parcel some tuckshops to MDC-T members,” said one tuck shop owner.
“Now we have Furo who is being seen in the company of Chirau and is openly declaring that he won because of the support of MDC-T people hence he is pushing the same agenda that Chirau tried to push,” the source added.
Mr Chirau is a former Ward 5 councillor and chairperson of the finance committee who was fired from council recently on allegations of corruption.
However, Mr Furo distanced himself from the allegations saying he does not deal with “tuckshop issues.”
He referred questions to acting town clerk Mr Edgar Mwedzi who said the blitz would continue and urged tuck shop owners to regularise their operations.
“If you are operating illegally then the law will take its course. At the moment we have been advising tuck shop owners to comply but we have started closing those that are operating illegally,” he said.
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Bongani Ndlovu