Ward 19 residents in Pumula have called on the incoming councillor to push for the reversal of the privatisation of council beerhalls.
The local authority, through the City of Bulawayo Commercial Entities (CBCE) trading as Ingwebu Breweries, leased out most of its beer outlets as it was struggling to keep them operational.
Speaking at a meeting hosted by CITE, Habakkuk Trust, BPRA and BVTA, where they were engaging with aspiring councillors, the residents say that the privatisation of the beerhalls has benefited a few individuals at the expense of the community.
They argue that the revenue from the beer halls could be used to improve the lives of all residents, not just a select few.
“When we were growing up, community halls and beer gardens were generating revenue for the local authority. Right now, we have dilapidated roads, yet people we do not know are being leased to our beer halls. They should be given back to the council. The money realised from there is benefiting specific individuals at the expense of everyone else,” a resident said.
The residents also raised concerns about the state of community halls and youth centres in the ward. They say that these facilities are not being used to their full potential and could be better utilized to benefit the community.
“Youth centres are now being used to host meetings instead of being spaces for learning life skills for young people. The women’s club here should be rehabilitated so that women can have income-generating projects. Such projects as those of refuse collection trucks should be granted per ward. It is not fair to have people from Magwegwe being given tenders to collect garbage in Pumula. Where will Pumula residents get business opportunities?”
The residents also called for the development of a cemetery in the ward and the improvement of the local clinic.
“We need a cemetery in our community. There is space that can be utilised for that than for us to go to uMvutsha, it is very far. We have Pumula clinic, it has been there for years but there is no maternity wing, no dental facility, can that be looked into? Of late we have been told to go to West Commonage to report cases instead of our local police station which is an inconvenience,” said Kennedy Goremucheche.
The aspiring councillors who attended the meeting responded to the residents’ concerns.
Citizens’ Coalition for Change (CCC) candidate Lazarus Mphandwe said that he would push for the beerhalls to be returned to the council. He also said that he would look into the issue of the community halls and youth centres.
Mthwakazi Republic Party candidate Moffat Nsingo said that he would engage the council about the possibility of finding a suitable area for a cemetery. He also said that he would push for the reversal of the decision to privatize the beer halls.
