Nemakonde Way car sales demolished to make way for road widening

SEVERAL car sales that had been established along Nemakonde Way (formerly called Lomagundi) have been ordered to vacate the premises to make way for road widening works.

Suburban Reporter

City of Harare officials ordered the owners of the car sales to demolish their structures and remove the vehicles kept there for sale. Council workers told the car sale owners that they were giving them 24 hours to vacate the roadside to make way for contractors hired to widen the road that connects Harare and the new Parliament Building in Mt Hampden and the farming towns of Banket, Chinhoyi, Karoi as well as the resort town of Kariba all the way up to Chirundu Border Post into neighbouring Zambia.

After the 24-hour verbal notice, the City of Harare workers returned the next day and started demolishing the fencing the car sales owners had put up as security for the premises and other structures such as offices.

The car sale owners pleaded with the council and central Government authorities to be allocated alternative premises to carry out their business. They also appealed for capital to re-establish themselves saying if they were left on their own, they would not make it given the drought that has hit Zimbabwe and other parts of Southern Africa.

“We were given a notice to vacate this place and make way for a road. They (City of Harare workers) came and demolished our fences and structures using a grader and they are coming back soon to demolish the offices.

“We just got a verbal notice but nothing in writing. They told us they want to build a road up to the new Parliament. We have nowhere to go and we might be headed to our rural areas because we have not been given alternative premises to operate from,” said one of the car sale owners.

He said they were forced to sell the materials they used to fence off their premises at give-away prices to scrap metal dealers because they had nowhere to keep the material.

“We are now selling steel (used to fence the car sales) at give-away prices as low as US$20 while some of the cars we are giving them back to their owners. The owners of the cars (on sale) are rushing to get their vehicles because they (City of Harare) said if they return and the cars are still there, they will destroy the cars and demolish whatever structure, including these offices, still standing. We are in difficult times, we tried to reason with them but they were not budging.

“We need help in the form of capital and premises to operate from. We will die of hunger because we are in a drought year. If we are not helped we will die of hunger and who will travel or drive on the new road. We are citizens of Zimbabwe and the Government must help us survive. I think they are seeing what is happening and we hope they will intervene,” said the car sale owner.

Commenting on the matter on their online platforms, Harare residents said that was the problem of relying or leasing council land for a business because when the municipality wants it back, they just take it and you have no option but to vacate.

Some residents noted that these roadsides places were not allocated appropriately as underhand dealings could have been behind the allocations.

“These spaces were never properly given. These were back office deals with council. I pass by Greencroft every day and that place was bad. Those car sales just came from nowhere and we asked where the paperwork was but nothing was produced. A lot of illegal activities were occurring (there),” said one resident.

Another resident said the situation was now out of control as every roadside now had some trading activities taking place there with car sales, brick and building materials traders, vendors selling wares from car boots and make-shift garages.

“That’s very bad because everywhere along the roads there are all sorts of activities with tombstone traders, car sales, vendors’ markets, boot sales, garages and tile traders some who are blocking road lanes and bus stops. Roadsides must be clear and have room for widening. We know that people will be trying to make a living but sometimes we overdo it and to be honest some of the traders know that what they will be doing is illegal. Then there are some in (council) offices who corruptly allocate these places after pocketing money,” said the resident.

Added another participant in the discussion: “In my view, these were illegal structures, so council is correcting anomalies.”

Other participants in the discussion said the car sale owners were aware that they were making use of the premises on a temporary basis since they were not allowed to build permanent structures.

Residents also called for the ejection of vendors from Westgate Shopping Centre and the Westgate roundabout saying their presence there was an eyesore.

“Vendors outside Westgate shops should also be removed. That’s an eyesore. The whole traffic lane has been turned into a big supermarket with no taxes being collected,” observed a resident.

The discussion also heard that the biggest problem facing the city nowadays was the belief that residents have a right to set up a business or build a house at every open space they come across without proper background checks.

A resident pointed out that the intersection of Nemakonde Way and Harare Drive was now swarmed with people doing all sorts of activities at the traffic lights. The resident added that people complain that roads should be widened to cater for increased traffic volumes but when they are asked to make way for the widening to take place, they start complaining.

The car dealers were warned as far back as 2021 when Government indicated it was investigating the legality of all the roadside car sales in the capital city.

The then late Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution in Harare Metropolitan Province Oliver Chidawu said the car sales had become an eyesore in the city.

Minister Chidawu said the disorder associated with the establishment of car sales had to be stopped and all illegal car sales removed.

“We have this city being turned, in fact, all roads are being turned into car sales. We have noticed in some areas like Lomagundi Road where there a lot of car sales. We do not know the process that has been followed.

“We are now emphasizing that we want orderliness. We want to ensure that we follow planning and if people are following planning we have no problems with them but what we have noticed is within that, some of our members of staff probably have been compromised in doing things which may not be above the law,” he said in 2021.

Former Permanent Secretary for Harare Province Mr Tafadzwa Muguti also said there was a great outcry from residents over the increase in car sales.

“People are cutting down trees, taking over play grounds and road servitudes without consulting the residents. We have gone deeper and have seen that there is problem within the local authority and through the Mayor and the municipal police a moratorium has been issued and there will be no leases being given anymore to car sales as investigations get underway,” Mr Muguti in 2021.

Residents from Ashbrittle, Avonlea, Greencroft, Bluff Hill, Greendale and Hillside among other suburbs had complained over the increase of car sales on major roads in their areas.

The City of Harare also carried out a blitz in 2021 to remove roadside traders of bricks, river sand, pit sand, quarry stones among other building materials from their undesignated places of business but the traders keep returning to continue their vending business.