adminClinton Moyo, Sunday News Reporter
RESIDENTS from one of Bulawayo’s leafy suburbs, Selbourne Park have rejected a proposal by Zimre Property Investment to construct a hostel to accommodate National University of Science and Technology (Nust) students within its vicinity.
The residents claim that construction of the hostel by the property developer in their area would impact negatively on the value of their properties as well as “fuel moral decadency among their children through associating with students from the higher learning institution”.
A number of people that attended a stakeholder’s consultation meeting on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the proposed student hostel at Zimre village organised by Zimre Property Investment’s environmental consultancy firm, Environmental Guardians Services yesterday were against the construction of the property.
“Do you know the impact of that hostel on our property? It will devalue our property, besides that we were never told that a hostel would be built in that area.
“The only thing we knew was that there was a company which was supposed to build town houses in the area and that is why we bought properties here otherwise we wouldn’t have bought them,” said one of the residents who refused to be named.
One of the women who also refused to be named for fear of being victimised said the hostel would spread moral decay among the children in the suburb.
“I fear that if you build that hostel there we will be picking up condoms from street to street. We do not want our children to be exposed to such wayward behaviour.
“You will see them hugging and kissing in the streets and our children will grow up watching that. Since it is going to be a two-storey building they will also be watching us from their rooms taking pictures of us and posting them on their WhatsApp groups,” she said.
The company had proposed to build the hotel adjacent to Masiyephambili Junior School. Zimre Bulawayo branch manager Mr Drison Afia, said the company wanted to build the hostel since Nust can only accommodate 2 000 students out of about 7 000 students who are enrolled at the learning institution.
Senior Consultant for Environmental Services Mr Michael Montana encouraged residents to write down their comments so that they can be presented to Zimre.
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