5 000 traders head for Chemhanza

Source: 5 000 traders head for Chemhanza – herald

Dr Shingirayi Mushamba

Trust Freddy

Herald Correspondent

FREQUENT fires that have for two decades haunted the Glen View Area 8 Home Industry complex, destroying property worth millions of dollars, could soon be over as at least 5 000 informal furniture manufacturers will be relocated to Chemhanza Grounds in Glen View 3.

Here, major and permanent civil works are being built.

While the multi-sectoral relocation is an emergency response triggered after President Mnangagwa declared the recurrent market fires a national disaster, the Chemhanza works will be retained for the expansion of small industrial concerns, even after the original Glen View 8 complex is properly rebuilt so fires cannot spread.

Harare Metropolitan Province Permanent Secretary for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Dr Shingirayi Mushamba, who is leading the committee implementing the project, confirmed yesterday that the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, through the Civil Protection Department, has injected US$20 000 for the immediate construction of modern ablution facilities.

“What is happening at Chemhanza ground is a process of decanting,” Dr Mushamba said. “We are preparing ground at Chemhanza to accommodate between 3 500 and 4 500 traders, those who manufacture furniture, currently based at Glen View 8 Home Industry.

“So, the Government intends to move the people who are manufacturing furniture currently based in Glen View 8, moving them to Chemhanza, so that we can actually build better structures that were erased by fire some months ago.”

While Chemhanza was initially conceptualised as a temporary holding site to facilitate the rebuilding of Area 8, Dr Mushamba said the Government has expanded the scope to turn it into a permanent, fully developed manufacturing hub to cater for industry growth.

“However, we have observed that sometimes we accommodate only those who are present at the site and do not take into account the needs and requirements of new entrants into the sector.

“So, instead of treating Chemhanza as a temporary site, the Government is putting in place infrastructure sufficient to accommodate up to 5 000 furniture manufacturers when fully developed,” he said.

“And what we have been doing so far is mapping the area. We are providing ablution facilities as we speak.”

Yesterday, heavy machinery was observed actively grading the terrain, opening up access ways and clearing debris.

The Permanent Secretary confirmed that these earthmoving machines and supporting logistical implements were provided by the Harare City Council to expedite the land preparation phase.

The clearance operations have also successfully flattened several illegal church structures that had encroached on the open space.

Engineers could be seen installing robust stormwater drainage across the site to eliminate the risk of waterlogging and flash flooding.

“We are also in the process of doing the drainage so that the area does not suffer from flooding,” Dr Mushamba added.

“We are also improving the lighting of the tower lights around Chemhanza Grounds, and I think about three or four are already in working order.

“We are also drilling boreholes to ensure that there is a continuous supply of water. We hope to drill up to about five boreholes in the area, depending on yield, just to ensure that there is continuous water available as a service to the operators.”

A non-governmental organisation, Dialogue on Shelter, has already committed to funding and drilling the first borehole.

In addition, security fencing is scheduled to be completed by the end of this week to protect traders’ stock and raw materials.

Work is also moving swiftly on constructing dedicated transport and parking bays to seamlessly handle incoming delivery vehicles bringing in raw timber and outbound cargo shipping finished furniture to markets.

“We are also working on the parking because we realise that the business of traders is quite significantly linked to the business of transport, bringing in materials as well as taking out manufactured materials to the market. So, that is the work that is ongoing right now.”

Dr Mushamba said alongside verifying the existing database of affected traders, additional community members from the local neighbourhood who wish to venture into the furniture business are also being registered.

In the medium term, the Harare City Council is spearheading plans to establish a vocational training centre within the neighbourhood.

The facility will standardise skill sets and add value to local production, upgrading the quality of furniture coming out of the industrial area.

“We hope that by the end of the year, both Glen View Area 8, as well as Chemhanza, will be operating as small and medium enterprises, successfully providing furniture for both the domestic and the countrywide market and, where necessary, also low-cost furniture for the sub-region,” Dr Mushamba added.

He commended the collaborative framework of the project, describing it as an exemplary public-private partnership.

“It is a combined effort led by the Government, of course, at a municipal level, at ministry level and at metropolitan council level,” he said.

“I would actually class this as a very good example of the Government, the private sector and NGOs working together with those who are affected, together with the communities.”