Online Reporter
Leonorah Ncube in Victoria Falls
THE City of Victoria Falls has moved in to regularise backyard poultry production and has advised residents to adhere to set guidelines to avoid being penalised.
Backyard poultry production has become a big business for many homes including in Victoria Falls where smallholder farmers are engaged in the trade due to its low start-up costs and high demand.
However, city authorities have now urged residents to formalise their poultry structures to ensure compliance, with health and safety regulations, aiming to balance economic survival with urban planning standards.
In a statement, Victoria Falls City Town Clerk Mr Ronnie Dube said that the ongoing regularisation of backyard fowl runs is part of the city’s routine development controls to maintain proper sanitation, prevent health hazards, and uphold urban planning standards.
He urged residents to comply by March 28, 2025, warning that failure will result in penalties.
“The City of Victoria Falls would like to advise residents that the city has been doing routine development controls.
To promote good public health, safety, and neighbourhood amenity, the city calls upon all residents with such structures to regularise their structures with the council by the 28th of March 2025 without penalties,” he said.
Mr Dube later emphasised the importance of regularising backyard fowl runs, noting that the process had long been overlooked, leading residents to believe their trade was acceptable without regulations.
For effective enforcement, he said the city had to issue a formal notice, which has now been done, giving residents 30 days to comply. He reiterated that the process aligns with the Regional Town and Country Planning Act and city council by-laws, ensuring structures meet the city’s minimum building standards.
“The proper thing is that there should be regularisation in terms of regional town and country planning laws and the city council by-laws,” said Mr Dube.
“But for us to effectively regularise we have to give notice to our residents, which we have since done.”
The directive to regularise backyard fowl runs has raised concerns from residents who have since started demolishing their fowl runs. Residents have argued that while the council gave them the 30-day notice, it has not provided a clear plan or designated an alternative area for poultry farming.
Ms Semukelisiwe Ncube (39), who relies on selling chickens for a living, expressed distress, stating that she has no other source of income as she did not attend school.
She revealed that upon consulting the council, she was informed that fowl-run plans were still unavailable.
Ms Ncube urged authorities to allocate a suitable space for small-scale poultry businesses, emphasising that many families depend on it for survival.
“I earn a living from rearing chickens and don’t have any other business to do since I didn’t go to school, upon talking to the council I learned that the fowl runs do not have a plan and now I am halfway done demolishing my fowl run,” she said.
“We wish the council could give us an alternative area to continue our projects.”
Another resident involved in chicken rearing, who preferred to remain anonymous, expressed confusion over the city council’s directive to regularise fowl runs.
He stated that he did not fully understand the process and called on the council to provide clearer guidelines, specific requirements, and alternative solutions as the residents depend on chicken rearing for their livelihoods.
“I do not understand what the council means by regularisation of fowl runs. Before I constructed my fowl run, I went to the council to seek permission, and I was informed that the three metres in the backyard belonged to the council. So, I must not build anything there,” said the resident.
“I was also told that the five meters in the front yard require council authority or a licence.
However, the sides of the yard belong to me as the homeowner.”
Residents have criticised the move, arguing that the council was targeting their source of income while failing to address long-standing service delivery concerns.
