adminFreedom Mupanedemo Midlands Bureau
Kwekwe City Council is working on turning its six beer halls into clinics and vocational training centres after the initial plan to lease them out to private players found no takers, city mayor Councillor Angeline Kasipo has said.
She said most of the council bars had been lying idle for the last five years and the few that were being run by private players were not bringing in any meaningful revenue to the local authority.
“We have realised that this opaque beer business is no longer viable even if the economy is to improve,” said Clr Kasipo.
“We have, therefore, decided to completely change the use of these facilities.”
Clr Kasipo said they were turning the beer halls into either clinics or training centres.
“We have already turned the one in Mbizo Section 16 into a clinic which is now serving the surrounding community,” she said.
“We are also refurbishing the Amaveni Beer Hall with the idea of turning it into a vocational training centre.”
Clr Kasipo said the conversion of all the beer halls should be complete by the second quarter of next year.
“I have no information at hand on what we are planning to do on each and every bar, but what I know is that we have allocated each into either a clinic, a vocational training centre or even a school,” she said.
Kwekwe City Council used to run a vibrant opaque beer brewing plant under the Simba Breweries banner.
The plant was closed some years back due to economic challenges.
Online Reporter