Free parking discs for security agents

Top security agents are among those who stand to benefit from free vehicle parking in Bulawayo's Central Business District.

This was revealed in the latest council minutes, where the town clerk Christopher Dube reported that in terms of the current policy on privileged vehicle parking in the city, various categories of personnel were exempted from purchasing vehicle parking discs.

Among those that are set to benefit from the local authority's privileged extension will be council officials using private vehicles on council business, council employees driving council vehicles, aldermen and councillors.

"Council heads of department, Judges (serving and retired). Defence forces (ZNA, ZRP, prisons) — from the rank of lieutenant colonel and equivalent locally based or in cantonments within greater Bulawayo and local Members of Parliament," reads the minutes in part.

The council noted that the exemption will only apply strictly to parking on normal parking bays and not on illegal parking or parking on prohibited areas.

This also comes at a time the council received a request from the Local Government ministry for the inclusion of their senior officials in the scheme.

The city fathers, however, acceded to the request, citing the cordial relationship that exists between the two parties.

Meanwhile, a parking management company, Megalithic Marketing (Pvt) Limited represented by its directors, Charles and Moreblessing Musema, have taken the local authority to court for contempt of court after the city fathers failed to comply with High Court orders, which dismissed its bid to cancel a tender that was initially won by the firm.

Megalithic Marketing, said the local authority failed to effect the tender for it to manage parking space in the city against the court's ruling.

The company cited BCC, Bulawayo town clerk Christopher Dube and chamber secretary, Sikhangele Zhou as respondents in its application.

"On October 7, 2011 first respondent (BCC) advertised for bidders for a parking management system tender for a five-year period commencing January 2012," read the application in part.

"Applicant participated in the tender process and the first respondent's (BCC's) adjudicating committee's findings without considering same on the merits and they subsequently placed another advert for a re-tender."

In June 2017, council wrote to the company saying its tender had not been successful for lack of experience and aborted the tender process without awarding any bidders.

The company submitted that council was in flagrant disregard of the court order by failing to award the tender to the highest bidder.

However, Justice Lawrence Kamocha set aside council's decision to re-tender saying  the court made pronouncement that the first respondent's decision to re-tender was unfair and capricious towards the applicant, who had come out as the highest bidder.

Council was not satisfied with the clear terms of the order and filed a chamber application to be allowed to have option to abort the previous tender process.
Council's application was dismissed.

In its response to the application, the council said when it advertised for tender in the parking management, it clearly stated that all will be done according to council policy.

Council said the applicant's bid was also accepted, but later the council's procurement board felt the whole tender had been marred by several irregularities and recommended a re-tender.