adminMidlands Reporter
SHURUGWI Town council is descending heavily on all businesses operating without licences and illegal structures that do not conform to the council by-laws.
The development is part of the town council’s efforts to upgrade and develop Shurugwi into a modern town.
“We just want to make sure that all businesses have an operational licence that allows them to operate their businesses. We are losing a lot of potential revenue through allowing businesses to operate willy-nilly without paying due regard to council by-laws,” said an official.
The official, who declined to be named, said the local authority was concerned about an increase in illegal tuck shops that were mushrooming in the chrome mining town.
These tuck shops are mostly located in high-density residential areas.
Business people who spoke to Chronicle complained about the high shop license tariffs charged by council.
Town chairman Tsungai Makore said the business community and residents should adhere to council-by laws on shop licensing because the issue of licensing is done after broad consultations.
He said:“We engaged the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, the business community and the residents at large. The business community was notified among other stakeholders and we even have an attendance register as proof that they were aware of the budget. So everyone interested in running a business should follow our by-laws.”
Makore said the council advertised its budget proposal in October last year and there were no objections from the business community.
This, he argued, meant the business and other interested groups were in agreement with the budget proposal.
“We advertised our budget from October last year and gave a four month window period to the business community, Shurugwi residents and our stakeholders to come up with objections but none did,” said Makore.
Makore, however, denied that the council had increased operating licence fees for shops.
He said the council was only closing down all operations that did not conform to municipal settings, the standards expected by the Ministry of Health and those who failed to conform to the council’s by-laws.
Makore said some unregistered businesses were operating under other businesses divorced from their nature of business.
One of the affected retail operators (name withheld) whose supermarket was closed due to lack of an operating licence insisted license fees were increased without notice.
He claims his licence was hiked from $230 to $555.
Said the business person:
“I am disappointed by the conduct of the council. The council service delivery is poor. They are failing to renovate their dilapidated premises yet they charge exorbitant licence fees”.
Makore dismissed the allegations as “unfounded”.
He said whoever is alleging that council increased its shop licence fees was among those who failed to pay their fees to the council.
Bongani Ndlovu