Source: Rwandan firm proposes 200km Bulawayo streetlight project — CITEZW
A Rwandan company has expressed interest in installing about 200km of street lighting infrastructure in Bulawayo, but the project would be funded through a levy on residents, the city’s acting director of works, Engineer Methuseli Dibidi, has said.
Eng Dibidi said the company had approached the council with the proposal, which would require approval from councillors and consultation with residents before it could proceed.
“The project would be financed through a dedicated levy to be charged to residents. Should Council approve the proposal, policymakers would need to undertake stakeholder engagement and sensitisation to secure residents’ support for the proposed Levy,” said Dibidi.
His comments came as councillors raised concerns about streetlights that have remained out of service for months, particularly in the western suburbs.
The concerns are contained in the Public Lighting Report in the latest council minutes, which also highlighted difficulties in meeting repair and maintenance timeframes and a lack of regular updates on outstanding work.
Ward 5 Councillor Octavius Nkomo said the council was struggling to meet the required timeframes for repairing and maintaining streetlights across the city.
“Council is struggling to meet the stipulated time frames for repairing and maintaining street lights across the City. There is inadequate communication of progress and status updates on outstanding projects,” said Nkomo.
Ward 25 Councillor Aleck Ndlovu said street lighting in the western suburbs required urgent attention, with some tower lights having been out of service for more than five months.
“Street lighting in the western suburbs requires urgent attention. Some tower lights have remained non-operational for a period exceeding five months. The prolonged outages are compromising public safety, particularly in light of the reported increase in incidents of mugging,” said Ndlovu.
The council minutes also recorded concerns about the slow pace of development in the city, with councillors linking delays in providing commercial stands to the growth of illegal businesses.
Ward 15 Councillor Ashton Mhlanga said residents in Cowdray Park had started operating illegal shops after the council delayed advertising a tender for commercial stands.
“In Cowdray Park residents have started operating illegal shops because the Council had delayed to advertise a tender for commercial stands. Some of those illegal shops indicate that the residents have the potential of building a shop and fully stocking it up,” said Mhlanga.
Councillor Susan Sithole said the low level of economic activity in Bulawayo required the council to take steps to revive the city’s economy.
“The City’s economic activities are very low and this calls on Council to revive the City’s economy,” said Sithole.
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