Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has banned the use of push carts within the city centre while motorists who tamper with wheel clamping equipment will face a one-year jail term. This is contained in the BCC (clamping and tow away) by-laws 2023 which has been approved by the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works.
The new by-law is contained in Statutory Instrument (SI) 220 of 2023 which repeals SI 63 of 2015 in line with the Urban Councils Act chapter 29:15. The development will likely set the local authority on a collision course with pushcart operators who eke out a living by transporting goods for vendors and other residents across the city for a small fee.
The new by-law also imposes a stiff penalty on motorists who “unlawfully attempts to remove, removes or causes to be removed a wheel clamp; or unlawfully attempts to remove, removes or causes to be removed a motor vehicle from a secure compound; shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level 3 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year or to both such fine and imprisonment.”
In addition, the abandoned vehicles or motor vehicles and trailers will be given a 10 days’ notice to be removed, failure to which council shall tow them to a secure compound at a cost to the owner.
“Abandoned motor vehicle shells and wracks, those with punctured tyres, parked in council bays or any council and unlicensed in terms of the Road Traffic Act [Chapter 13:11] shall be regarded as dirt and nuisance and removed immediately to a secure compound without notification at a cost to the owner.”
Vehicles in a dirty and filthy state and not displaying valid license discs will be immediately removed from the road or any area under the jurisdiction of the at a cost to the owner.
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