daniel chigunwe
Business Writer
President Mnangagwa has invoked temporary Presidential Powers to safeguard the assets of the Ruwa Local Board from attachment.
This follows the High Court on June 18, 2024 ordering the sale of execution of moveable assets belonging to Ruwa Local Board.
When it appears to the President that a situation has arisen or is likely to arise that requires urgent action to protect, among other things, public safety, public health, or other vital interests, and when this situation cannot be adequately addressed through existing laws, the President may, subject to the Constitution and this Act, issue regulations to deal with the situation.
These regulations may be enacted without waiting for the passage of a law through Parliament due to the urgency of the matter.”
The move is crucial to prevent the potential negative impacts on businesses and the more than 300 000 residents of Ruwa, a town located approximately 30 kilometers east of Harare.
The Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) (Extension of State Liabilities Act to the Assets of Ruwa Local Board) Regulations, 2024 interdicts the execution of Ruwa Local Board assets including critical service delivery equipment such as refuse compactors, graders, honey sucker, motor vehicles, and sewer pumps essential for the delivery of basic services to the residents and businesses of the Local Authority.
“The inability to provide the aforesaid services in consequence of the attachment is likely to expose residents of the Local Authority and its neighbours to catastrophic health risks resulting from uncollected refuse, no road works, sewer blockages and interrupted water supply from burst pipes,” reads part of regulation in the Statutory Instrument 174 of 2024 published on Friday.
“It is estimated that the lives of over 300 000 residents are at the immediate risk of contracting diseases such as dysentery, typhoid and cholera unless immediate action is taken to restore the ability to the Local Authority to provide the necessary services to prevent any such outbreak”
The regulations apply to all assets that were attached or threatened with attachment due to High Court order and will now revert to or remain in the possession of the Ruwa Local Board, the regulations say.
Bongani Ndlovu