Haulage trucks banned from Bulawayo CBD
By Vusumuzi Dube
Haulage trucks have been banned from parking within and in the outskirts of Bulawayo’s Central Business District (CBD) with the local authority last week embarking on a clamping exercise on those found parked overnight.
Last week Sunday News observed a Bulawayo City Council (BCC) enforcement team clamping haulage trucks that had parked overnight near the Inxwala site at around 9pm.
City of Bulawayo, Corporate Communications manager, Mrs Nesisa Mpofu said the move was a routine exercise where council officials were enforcing BCC by-laws that specifically made it illegal for the haulage truck drivers to park anywhere.
She encouraged the truckers to ultilise the newly established Truck Inn that is located after Ingwebu Breweries next to Udine products along Steel dale road.
“The City of Bulawayo is monitoring illegal parking by haulage trucks across the city. Areas of concern are exit routes such as Harare, Gwanda and Victoria Falls Roads as well as the Inxwala site. We are impounding those violating the by-laws to our storage yard.
“We have managed to clamp more than 30 trucks from Monday 11 October 2021 to date. The City of Bulawayo wishes to encourage truckers to utilize the newly established Truck Inn after Ingwebu breweries next to Udine products along Steel dale Road,” said Mrs Mpofu.
The council spokesperson further revealed that they had noted that some unscrupulous truckers now had a tendency of offloading various kinds of loads near the Heath Streak Academy and along Harare Road soon after Puma garage.
“We have since deployed teams to monitor the situation 24 hours a day and curb this illegal practice,” said Mrs Mpofu.
She revealed that when they clamp the trucks they charge them a penalty of US$20 plus the storage fee.
“We are charging them for Violating Statutory Iinstrument 63/15 (Byo clamping and tow away by-laws) where they are violating ltem 2.1(2); parking motor vehicle over lines of parking bays causing nuisance or danger either by day or night and the charge is US$20.
“The other offence is parking heavy duty vehicles in residential areas which is also US$20 equivalent which is item 1(18) iii of the same statute,” said the council spokesperson.
A few years back the local authority attempted to ban luxury buses from entering the CBD, instead directing that they should rank at approved termini and then use shuttle services to transport passengers to hotels. The Sunday News
