Chronicle Editor
Mpumelelo Nyoni, Chronicle Reporter
THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has started a US$300 000 programme to repair infrastructure that was vandalised during the January shutdown protests.
In an interview yesterday, BCC chamber secretary Mrs Sikhangele Zhou said damaging council property was retrogressive as residents ultimately bear the cost of repairs.
“We couldn’t let the damaged infrastructure lie damaged because for instance, the traffic lights are part of safety that is meant for road users and we needed to do it.
“But all we are saying to residents is that can you respect municipal infrastructure because it will cost us to repair it. We will come back to the residents for funding as well. Residents must understand that municipal infrastructure is their infrastructure as well. So if you destroy it, you are destroying yourselves,” said Mrs Zhou.
In January this year, violent youths belonging mainly to the opposition MDC-A among other protesters unleashed terror in most western suburbs destroying property while looting from shops.
Property worth millions of dollars was destroyed during the violent protests.
Speaking in the aftermath of the protests, Bulawayo Town Clerk Mr Christopher Dube slammed the violent protests saying it would take a long time for council to fix its vandalised property.
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