Chronicle Editor
Nqobile Bhebhe, Senior Business Reporter
A financial institution with trust in housing and infrastructure development, the National Building Society (NBS) has expressed keen interest in partnering with Bulawayo City Council (BCC) for the re-development of Renkini long-distance bus terminus.
NBS wants to give the sprawling dilapidated infrastructure a modern look and a conducive facelift for any form of trade.
The proposals dovetail with long terms of re-development plans set by the city council focused on urban renewal. Renkini terminus, which mainly caters for buses travelling to rural areas, has over the years deteriorated.
In an interview with Business Chronicle last Friday, NBS’s managing director Mr Tapera Mushoriwa said they met with council officials and pitched the partnership idea.
He said local authorities are not only responsible for the roads but also creating infrastructure for schools, health and other areas.
Last week he led his team on a three-day tour of various projects in and around the city.
“One of the exciting issues that came out of the meeting was they looked at NBS as a bank that only looks at housing delivery, but because we were able to say we go beyond and look at the complete value chain in terms of various pillars Of NDS-1,” Mr Mushoriwa said.
“Council officials highlighted the state of Renkini which we all know is not in a good state now. We would be coming to assist to refurbish the area so that people can be able to access commuting facilities and other services easily.”
Several traders at Renkini said they are fast losing hope in the redevelopment of the facility.
For instance, they said the council is struggling to collect piling refuse which poses a health hazard to anyone operating or visiting Renkini.
“Developing Renkini is a noble idea because there is too much crowding here. Legal traders and illegal vendors now overwhelm this place. I am a registered trader and a holder of a trading licence, paying US$5 each month to the council but I don’t operate from legally designated areas,” said a trader who identified herself as Mrs Ncube.
She added, “We are now too many. People boarding buses are also too many, it’s just a mess. I have heard of this issue of giving Renkini a facelift for several years and I doubt that would happen soon,” she said.
Another male trader, Mr Maxwell Chamu said it is puzzling as to why the council is not attracting genuine developers to revamp the terminus.
He said Renkini has a thriving ecosystem that needs proper infrastructure for traders to operate from.
“The location of the terminus close to established firms and small to medium entrepreneurs such as those selling scotch carts, beds, and an assortment of furniture makes it attractive to investors. I don’t think it’s a struggle to attract people who are keen to develop this area. A lot of money is changing hands here. We want to operate in a clean, modern environment.”
Others are against the redevelopment idea fearing that once redevelopment starts, the project might take years to be completed.
They made reference to the local authority struggling to ensure the completion of the rehabilitation of Egodini bus terminus, with South Africa-based developer, Terracotta Private Limited missing a string of set timelines to complete the project.
By the time of going to press, Bulawayo City council had not responded to inquiries sent on Monday.
Last March, council said Renkini, being adjacent to Makokoba, will be incorporated into the Makokoba redevelopment project.
It planned to advertise for the procurement of consultants for the preparation of the Local Subject Plan (LSP) for the Makokoba suburb last year.
The LSP was to guide the redevelopment project to ensure that it is done in a co-ordinated and well-planned manner.
Once the LSP has been done and completed, modalities will then be put in place for the actual redevelopment process to take place, council said then.
At one point, the local authority’s committee on Town Lands and Planning together with senior council management went on a “look and learn” visit to the Gweru Municipality where among other projects they had an appreciation on how the Midlands city worked on the rehabilitation of Kudzanayi Long Distance Bus Terminus rehabilitation was done at a cost of US$1,6 million following a partnership between the Government, Gweru City Council (GCC) and a private sector organisation, Bentach Resources.
It has created modern vending bays that can accommodate 800 vendors and can process more than 100 buses per day.
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