News / Local
Boundary war between BCC and Umguza escalates
06 Mar 2016 at 01:58hrs | Views
THE Bulawayo City Council has informed the Government that it has annexed areas which were under the Umguza Rural District Council to expand its boundaries heightening tensions between the two local authorities that have been fighting over the ownership of the affected areas.
The two local authorities have been at each other's throats regarding the incorporation of land around the city following a Presidential Proclamation 15E of 2004 and the subsequent Statutory Instruments that created the metropolitan provinces of Bulawayo and Harare.
In both cases the metropolitan boundaries were declared as covering a radius of up to 40 kilometres.
In the latest development, BCC abandoned negotiations with Umguza over the expansion moves and instead informed the Government that it was going ahead with expanding the city's boundaries and will now start collecting revenue and providing services to areas despite them being under the jurisdiction of Umguza RDC.
The areas annexed include the controversial Reigate, Umvutsha, Umguza Agricultural Lots, Umguza Estate and the Southern portion of Nondwane. Last year Umguza RDC launched an exercise of demolishing Reigate compound houses after the local authority decided to turn Reigate area into a residential suburb.
In an interview with Sunday News Bulawayo Mayor Councillor Martin Moyo said what they were doing was just a mere formality as there was a clear law which supported their move.
"This is just a formality, we have not been implementing this but the law supports us," said Clr Moyo.
Umguza RDC chief executive officer Mr Collen Moyo, however, hit back at BCC saying while they were aware that they had since written to the Government informing them of this move, they had a low institutional memory as they were overlooking the reason why previous city fathers had never implemented the proclamation.
"We are aware that they (BCC) have written to the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing but I think this is a case of them having a very low institutional memory. They should ask themselves why, people who were in office then, (did not implement it), it was not an appetising proclamation! It is only this current crop which has become excited over this," said Mr Moyo.
According to the latest BCC report, the local authority wrote to the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing notifying them of the expansion exercise under an earlier proclamation of 1999.
"Reference is made to the Statutory Instrument 212 of 1999. Please be advised that an error has been perpetrated over time to assume that the land as detailed in Statutory Instrument 212 of 1999 is under Umguza Rural District Council (fact and Law). It is quite clear that this land since 1999 falls under the city of Bulawayo.
"The land was acquired/incorporated by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe (President Mugabe) for the City of Bulawayo through Statutory Instrument 212 of 99. Therefore it means every development in these areas must be done under the authority of the city of Bulawayo as the relevant planning authority in terms of the law. We are therefore accordingly proceeding to implement the attached Statutory Instrument," reads part of the letter.
According to BCC, the implications of the implementation of the Statutory Instrument were that the said areas now fall under the jurisdiction of Bulawayo, hence the local authority now has to plan and provide services and infrastructure to the areas.
In the restructuring of ward and block boundaries in 1999 in terms of the Proclamation 17, the Statutory Instrument stated that: ". . . by virtue of the powers vested in the President I do hereby alter the boundaries of the Bulawayo City Council area by the addition of Umvutsha, Reigate, Umguza Agricultural Lots, Umguza Estate, Southern Portion of Nondwane to the said Council area . . ."
This was done in terms of paragraph (b) of subsection 2 of section 4 of the Urban Councils Act (Chapter 29:15).
Section 4 of the Act, which deals with provisions relating to establishment, alteration or abolition of municipalities, towns, councils and council areas reads: "At any time after the establishment of a council the President may, subject to this Act, by proclamation in the Gazette and after consultation with the council divide or re-divide the council area into any number of wards, create one or more additional wards, alter or abolish one or more wards or abolish the division of the council area into wards, (Or) alter the boundaries of the council area by adding thereto and additionally, or alternatively, subtracting therefrom any area, determine any question arising therefrom and redefine the council area."
The latest move could bring to an end a fight between the two local authorities over the ownership of the land with BCC at one point accusing Umguza RDC officials and land developers, whom they said were building houses close to the border between the two councils and expecting BCC to provide services to these areas.
Umguza RDC on the other hand were accusing BCC of arm-twisting land developers that were interested in constructing houses close to the boundary of the two councils on the side of Umguza to seek voluntary incorporation for the council to award them subdivision certificates and connect them to the city's water and sewage reticulation.
The matter had been escalated by the development of Mbundane and Emthunzini suburbs, whose incorporation into the master plan of Bulawayo have courted controversy as neither of the local authorities wanted to accept responsibility of both suburbs.
The two local authorities have been at each other's throats regarding the incorporation of land around the city following a Presidential Proclamation 15E of 2004 and the subsequent Statutory Instruments that created the metropolitan provinces of Bulawayo and Harare.
In both cases the metropolitan boundaries were declared as covering a radius of up to 40 kilometres.
In the latest development, BCC abandoned negotiations with Umguza over the expansion moves and instead informed the Government that it was going ahead with expanding the city's boundaries and will now start collecting revenue and providing services to areas despite them being under the jurisdiction of Umguza RDC.
The areas annexed include the controversial Reigate, Umvutsha, Umguza Agricultural Lots, Umguza Estate and the Southern portion of Nondwane. Last year Umguza RDC launched an exercise of demolishing Reigate compound houses after the local authority decided to turn Reigate area into a residential suburb.
In an interview with Sunday News Bulawayo Mayor Councillor Martin Moyo said what they were doing was just a mere formality as there was a clear law which supported their move.
"This is just a formality, we have not been implementing this but the law supports us," said Clr Moyo.
Umguza RDC chief executive officer Mr Collen Moyo, however, hit back at BCC saying while they were aware that they had since written to the Government informing them of this move, they had a low institutional memory as they were overlooking the reason why previous city fathers had never implemented the proclamation.
"We are aware that they (BCC) have written to the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing but I think this is a case of them having a very low institutional memory. They should ask themselves why, people who were in office then, (did not implement it), it was not an appetising proclamation! It is only this current crop which has become excited over this," said Mr Moyo.
"Reference is made to the Statutory Instrument 212 of 1999. Please be advised that an error has been perpetrated over time to assume that the land as detailed in Statutory Instrument 212 of 1999 is under Umguza Rural District Council (fact and Law). It is quite clear that this land since 1999 falls under the city of Bulawayo.
"The land was acquired/incorporated by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe (President Mugabe) for the City of Bulawayo through Statutory Instrument 212 of 99. Therefore it means every development in these areas must be done under the authority of the city of Bulawayo as the relevant planning authority in terms of the law. We are therefore accordingly proceeding to implement the attached Statutory Instrument," reads part of the letter.
According to BCC, the implications of the implementation of the Statutory Instrument were that the said areas now fall under the jurisdiction of Bulawayo, hence the local authority now has to plan and provide services and infrastructure to the areas.
In the restructuring of ward and block boundaries in 1999 in terms of the Proclamation 17, the Statutory Instrument stated that: ". . . by virtue of the powers vested in the President I do hereby alter the boundaries of the Bulawayo City Council area by the addition of Umvutsha, Reigate, Umguza Agricultural Lots, Umguza Estate, Southern Portion of Nondwane to the said Council area . . ."
This was done in terms of paragraph (b) of subsection 2 of section 4 of the Urban Councils Act (Chapter 29:15).
Section 4 of the Act, which deals with provisions relating to establishment, alteration or abolition of municipalities, towns, councils and council areas reads: "At any time after the establishment of a council the President may, subject to this Act, by proclamation in the Gazette and after consultation with the council divide or re-divide the council area into any number of wards, create one or more additional wards, alter or abolish one or more wards or abolish the division of the council area into wards, (Or) alter the boundaries of the council area by adding thereto and additionally, or alternatively, subtracting therefrom any area, determine any question arising therefrom and redefine the council area."
The latest move could bring to an end a fight between the two local authorities over the ownership of the land with BCC at one point accusing Umguza RDC officials and land developers, whom they said were building houses close to the border between the two councils and expecting BCC to provide services to these areas.
Umguza RDC on the other hand were accusing BCC of arm-twisting land developers that were interested in constructing houses close to the boundary of the two councils on the side of Umguza to seek voluntary incorporation for the council to award them subdivision certificates and connect them to the city's water and sewage reticulation.
The matter had been escalated by the development of Mbundane and Emthunzini suburbs, whose incorporation into the master plan of Bulawayo have courted controversy as neither of the local authorities wanted to accept responsibility of both suburbs.
Source - sundaynews
