adminYeukai Karengezeka Herald Correspondent
Businesspeople operating along Samora Machel Avenue just after the Harare Showgrounds’ main gate have slammed council for closing an access road in favour of a client who bought the place.
Some of the people affected by the road closure told The Herald that it was improper for council to favour one investor over others.
“This is totally unacceptable and ridiculous. What kind of planning is it that a person is allocated a stand on the road. Some of us have been using offices around this area since 2012 and everything has been affected by this development.
“If the town clerk thinks this is justifiable then he is not fit even to be a village head,” fumed one irate businessman, who runs a law firm
He added that if the issue was not addressed, he would take the matter to court.
Some of the businesses affected by the closure of the road include Jet Airways and Aqua Lodge, among others.
“We only discovered that the access road had been fenced off on Saturday afternoon. This has inconvenienced us and most of clients now have to go around to reach here and this is also diverting traffic,” said another worker.
However, Town Clerk Engineer Hosiah Chisango said the road closure was above board.
“The land was surveyed way back and reserved for domestic use flats and it remains earmarked for that purpose.
“City planners and engineers are looking at how the developments can be implemented in view of the other developments that have happened in that area,” he said.
Online Reporter