Suburban
Peter Tanyanyiwa, Suburban Reporter
The Borrowdale Ratepayers and Residents Association (BRRA) is working closely with the Harare City Council, charity groups and individuals to help the Borrowdale community pull through the current challenges.
The residents body is also mooting ways of helping non-essential service businesses to recover from the 21-day lockdown during which they will be closed.
In line with government directive, the BRRA has confirmed that Ward18 is on lockdown with all restaurants and entertainment places closed except supermarkets and pharmacies to allow residents to buy essential perishables and medication.
In an interview on Wednesday the BRRA acting chairperson Mr Kelvin Motsi said that the residents’ association was total support of the lockdown, which is meant to protect the citizens from getting infected with the coronavirus.
“We are fully in support of the intervention that is meant to protect all citizens and flatten the curve. It is vital that all measures are taken to reduce the spread of Covid-19 in Zimbabwe. We like all citizens are playing our part,” he said.
The acting BRRA chairperson added that they are grateful for the support they are getting from the body’s members who have been paying up their subscriptions enabling it to secure the much needed supplies of sanitizers, gloves and masks for their service providers such as City of Harare (COH) and the Borrowdale Police Station.
He added that residents are also in full support of the Miracle Missions initiative to collect supplies for the less privileged.
“We all need to work together to deal with this pandemic and ensure we come out a more united and stronger people. I am happy with the support that the residents have been giving to the less privileged in such challenging times, let’s continue donating through Miracle Missions Trust,” said Mr Motsi.
He said the impact of the lockdown on businesses in the area will only be determined after the expiry of the 21-day shutdown hinting that ways will have to be found to help the businesses recover.
“Businesses in our area have had to close temporarily and we will see the full impact after the lockdown period. We will need a lot of pulling together as residents to support our local business get back on their feet.”
Mr Motsi appealed to landlords to be lenient with their tenants during this difficult period.
“We are hoping landlords will be lenient on their tenants and offer reduced rentals or payment plans to allow them to find their standing,” he said.
