New council urged to expedite Egodini project

Residents  Associations in Bulawayo have called on  the newly elected councillors  to speed up completion of the Egodini Mall project.

Speaking to Community  Podium,  Bulawayo  Progressive Residents  Association (BUPRA) chairperson Ambrose  Sibindi said it is paramount  for the project  to be given outmost  attention. 

“We challenge the local authority to  look deep into this project  and take action that will benefit  the city of Bulawayo  in taking the city to its previous  status of being Africa’s cleanest city. The delay of this project is one of the triggers of congestion in the city. Vendors and public transport vehicles that operate in the proximity of the project were operating  from within Egodini as a way of paving space for the renovation of the structure  which they  were made to believe was bound to be swift but years later, the structure has not seen the light of day. The previous council offered no answers,” he said.

The Bulawayo United Residents Association (BURA)  chairman Winos Sibanda bemoaned that the stalled project is holding back the city and also presents the city with a potential health problem.

“The project has outlived its completion period and it is dragging the progress of the city backwards and flooding the city with illegal  vending  which  exacerbates  the city’s dire health state. If not monitored well, this congestion  is bound to  create a healthy  bomb in the Central Business District( CBD)  given that in these contested  pavements, there are piles of litter decomposing. Look at the area between  sixth  avenue and Herbet Chitepo the pile is always wet and stinky which is a health hazard.”

In June this year, the previous council took Egodini Mall contractor, Terracotta Private Limited to court for the project delay after winning the US$60 million tender to refurbish the Basch Street Terminus in 2012. 

To pave way for the construction of a mall and modern bus rank, Egodini was closed in 2016. Since its closure, vendors have invaded the city pavements causing massive congestion.