Coltart bristles after government slashes parking, clamping fees 

BULAWAYO – Bulawayo mayor David Coltart has expressed dismay after the government ordered local authorities to cut parking, clamping and tow-away fees by half — a move welcomed by residents who have long complained about punitive charges under the city’s controversial parking partnership.

Cabinet announced Tuesday that parking fees would drop from US$1 to 50 cents per hour, while clamping penalties and tow-away costs would also be reduced.

Finance minister Mthuli Ncube said the decision was part of a wider review to ease the cost of doing business, which also included slashing the price of vehicle number plates from US$500 to US$50.

Coltart, however, warned that the measures would hurt already cash-strapped municipalities. Writing on X, he said: “The reality of this measure, combined with the tax on commuter taxis, is that less money will now come to urban councils and more money will go to central government.”

Bulawayo has since 2022 been in an unpopular public-private partnership with Tendy Three Investments (TTI), which runs parking management in the city centre.

Under the deal, motorists pay US$1 an hour for parking, while unlicensed or improperly parked vehicles attract penalties of US$40 — including a US$10 “clamping fee.”

The council retains just 30 percent of the revenue, with TTI pocketing 70 percent.

In the five months between January 1 and May 31 last year, TTI remitted just over US$1.5 million to the council. Its own share of the revenue would have been more than double that.

The contract, awarded in 2020 but implemented two years later, runs for six years to December 2027, with an option to extend a further four years.

Bulawayo residents have repeatedly demanded its cancellation, describing it as exploitative. Coltart ran for mayor vowing to review the contract.

His reaction to the fee reduction sparked pushback online.

Zimbabwe Media Commission commissioner Aleck Ncube wrote on X: “If @CityofBulawayo is getting 25 cents per dollar, it can still get its share from the reduced parking fees. Why have an agreement which favours some private entity which invested absolutely nothing in the first place? … The public outcry has been loud and clear. Kudos to central government for listening.”

Another X user told the mayor: “So many people now avoid parking within the CBDs. Most formal businesses are running from the CBDs to the outskirts and we need to stop seeing fines as revenue lines.”