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B Metro Reporter
Tendy Three Investments, a company contracted by the Bulawayo City Council, has become one of the major employers in the city with over 350 workers.
Since it was given the go ahead to implement the vehicle paid parking system in the city three years ago, the company has given employment to mostly youths in the city, and spends about US$100 000 on salaries every month.
“Like we said at the start of the project, we are not here to only collect revenue for the city council through parking fees, but we are also here to provide employment to our youths. The people who are our marshals and those who work in the office are local people who are making a livelihood through TTI,” said the company’s managing director Lizwe Mabuza.
However, he said the company was struggling to meet targets and recorded losses in the past two years.
“I have proposed to BCC to flip the 70 – 30 percentage set up currently existing so that they get 70 percent and TTI pockets 30 percentage from parking fees, which BCC has shunned. As TTI, we are comfortable with 30 percent as long as BCC will from the 70 percent absorb workers and pay salaries and other running costs. The 70 percent we get does not fully cover the running costs of the organisation,” he said.
The project was approved by the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (Zida), for a period of six years, with an option to extend it for a further two years.
TTI is also mandated to provide surveillance in the city centre through installation CCTV cameras.
“That is work in progress and that is expected to protect cars from thieves,” added Mabuza.
Mabuza revealed that apart from running the parking solutions company, he was also into retail business and real estate in South Africa and abroad.
“I also do mining in the country and I am into agriculture and I have a security company in South Africa. But I have always kept in touch with my roots and have been doing philanthropic work here in Bulawayo. I’m glad TTI has also chipped in to assist the less privileged with food, education bursaries, health care fees and other items, something we started during the Covid 19 era and the budget for charity work is up to US$100 000 per year.”
The businessman has also initiated a proposal with council to set up a bitumen plant in the city, which will help council to repair roads in the city.
The company is also into vehicle parking management in South Africa. Harare implemented the vehicle parking management system using City Parking before the system was rolled into Bulawayo, with Gweru and Kwekwe following suit. (Advertorial)
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