The Passengers Association of Zimbabwe has given City of Harare a two week ultimatum to clean up the mess at Mbare Musika Bus terminus and rid the place of touts who are reportedly harassing travelers.
Speaking to 263Chat in an exclusive interview yesterday, PAZ President Tafadzwa George Goliati expressed displeasure over City of Harare’s failure to bring sanity at the busiest bus terminus in the country.
“We are a law abiding citizenry but if the City of Harare fail to deliver in two weeks, we shall act and the action we are going to take remains unspecified.
“The state of Mbare musika is not encouraging for those travelling because of the rampant abuse by touts. We also want CCTV system installed at the terminus as well as security personnel to protect commuters who have become victims of touts’ unruly behaviour,” Goliati said.
PAZ has already written to the city fathers lamenting the deplorable state of affairs at the country largest bus terminus including poor sanitation and lighting.
“We are also concerned at the fact that bus terminus have been converted into vending sites. This overcrowding of terminus due to the heavy presence of vendors makes it unsafe and difficult for people to commute from bus terminus. We implore the city of Harare to expedite the relocation of vendors to the sites that you have allocated them. Police must stop harassing passengers and the general public.
“Furthermore, there is no lighting at these termini which makes them unsafe for commuters during the night. Some terminuses toilets need to be repaired. At times toilets are closed during the day making it difficult for commuters to relieve themselves. We request that toilets be operational 24 hours a day, these bus termini should have proper lighting to avoid the mugging of commuters at night,” reads part of the letter dated 25 October 2018.
Reached for a comment, Harare City Council spokesperson Michael Chideme confirmed that the traditional terminus amenities were not in good frame for use
“They are not in the right frame of use, and we are making a roll to upgrade those structures, they resonate with our vision of the world class city,” Chideme said.
