Bulawayo council to repossess undeveloped stands

AT least 43 people risk losing their commercial stands in Bulawayo's Nkulumane and Nketa suburbs after failing to develop them two years after they were allocated the stands in terms of council's regulations.

Bulawayo town clerk Midleton Nyoni issued a notice advising the owners of the stands to approach the director of housing and community services Isiah Magagula for a way forward.

The affected stands are in Nkulumane 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12 and Nketa 7, 8 and 9.

"In accordance with the agreement of sale entered into between the owners of the stands mentioned above and the City Council, construction should have commenced six months from the date of agreement of sale and completed 24 months later," Ndlovu said.

"A recent site inspection of the stands, however, reveals that to date no development has taken place on the stands as yet and there is no sign that work will be commenced soon."

The Bulawayo City Council has in the past expressed concern about the high number of commercial stands that have remained underdeveloped for a number of years.

According to council regulations, if an owner fails to develop a stand for two years, the local authority can repossess it without paying any compensation.

Investment in Bulawayo has remained depressed with established companies closing down or relocating to Harare after citing the poor business environment in the city.

Some companies have also blamed the chronic water shortage as the major reason for relocating.