Source: Glen View traders accuse rival committees of sabotage fires – herald
Trust Freddy
Herald Correspondent
BITTER leadership wrangles and extortion syndicates within the management committees of the Glen View Area 8 Home Industry Complex have been blamed for recurring fire outbreaks that have continually crippled the informal manufacturing hub.
This emerged today when carpenters started rebuilding their stalls, defying local authority directives following Sunday’s assessment tour of the disaster site.
This comes barely 24 hours after a devastating inferno—the 14th in two decades—decimated a section of the complex, destroying goods worth thousands of dollars and leaving hundreds of small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) stranded.
While the Civil Protection Unit (CPU) and the Harare City Council on Sunday outlined plans to temporarily relocate the traders to Chemhanza Grounds to allow for a structured, Government-led reconstruction, carpenters are already clearing the debris and rebuilding using makeshift materials.
Traders who spoke to this publication claimed the frequent fires are not accidental, but rather acts of deliberate arson triggered by battles to control the lucrative revenue collected at the complex.
“Whenever a new committee is appointed to manage the complex and begins collecting money from us, rival factions torch the place just to fix the incumbent leadership,” Takemore Chipagwe, one of the carpenters, said.
“We are appealing to the relevant authorities to intervene so that we can select leadership amongst ourselves rather than having leadership that impose themselves on us.”
The traders further alleged that the committees running the informal hub are not even furniture makers but youths who fight over levies while inflicting maximum financial pain on actual workers.
“For the past few months, we hadn’t been paying anyone and had no problems. The issues only started when we began paying US$3 per month for each carpenter, plus $1 for every item bought here,” Moment Mukuchura said.
“There is a group at the gate calling themselves ‘the gate leadership’ who aren’t even carpenters.
“Whenever they start collecting money, another disgruntled group decides to sabotage them.”
For Mr Maxwell Mugedya, who lost over US$3 000 worth of furniture, the suspected electrical fault may just be a manufactured theory.
Mugedya expressed deep skepticism regarding the official explanation, pointing instead to internal power struggles.
“I don’t believe these fires are caused by electrical faults because we always ensure we switch off the circuit breaker before leaving,” Mugedya said.
“However, those who claim to be management have rivals. When they elbow out a competing group, the rivals always find a way to commit sabotage. The only lasting solution is for us to elect our own leadership.”
The severity of the latest blaze prompted a joint emergency tour on Sunday by the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Civil Protection Unit (CPU) Chief Director Mr Nathan Nkomo, and Harare City Council Small and Medium Enterprises Committee Chairperson, Councillor Denford Ngadziore.
The high-level delegation announced that the government will fast-track a Cabinet-mandated reorganisation of the complex to establish a permanent solution.
During the tour, Councillor Denford Ngadziore said affected traders would be temporarily relocated to Chemhanza Grounds pending the completion of administrative processes.
“In the meantime, we have identified Chemhanza Grounds as the place where these people are supposed to be relocated,” he said.
“The relocation, however, cannot happen immediately because we are yet to finalise issues relating to development approvals.”
Despite, the ministerial tour and the council’s relocation directive, traders have already returned to the ash-filled site to rebuild, citing excessive bureaucratic bottlenecks within the municipality.
Arguing that they cannot afford to lose their livelihoods to administrative bottlenecks, the carpenters have already begun reconstructing their workshops on the exact site of the blaze.
Efforts to get a comment from Harare City Council Small and Medium Enterprises Committee chairperson Councillor Denford Ngadziore, who announced the directive, were fruitless as his phone went unanswered.
The post Glen View traders accuse rival committees of sabotage fires appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.