SOME homeseekers in Bulawayo on Monday staged a protest at the City Hall demanding to be shown their stands by the local authority after it failed to allocate them.
Carrying placards, the protestors picketed in front of the City Hall offices to register their displeasure over the delays. We demand our stands; The waiting has been too much; Seven years no stands read some of the placards.
The protest started at around 9:30am and ended by 12 noon.
“We have waited for more than seven years now and nothing has happened. We continue to lose a lot of money paying for stands every year, hoping that we will get them but nothing is happening,” one of the protesters told Southern Eye.
Human rights watchdog, Coalition for Citizens Advocates witnessed the picketing.
“These people say they were fleeced of their money, about US$8 000 over a period of seven years and they are yet to be shown the stands by the city fathers. A BCC [Bulawayo City Council] official said they would hold a meeting with residents on the issue,” Coca secretary-general Wilbert Ndiweni told Southern Eye yesterday.
“Coca condemns such injustices by the city fathers as this gives a very bad impression of them in light of the hardships that residents go through in sourcing such big amounts of money over a long period.”
Bulawayo deputy mayor Mlandu Ncube yesterday confirmed that he had heard of the petition.
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“However, I have not yet seen the petition,” Ncube said.
BCC is currently battling to deal with a waiting list of over 100 000.
