THE Bulawayo City Council is backtracking on its decision to franchise all its beerhalls after former mayor Japhet Ndabeni Ncube wrote to the municipality urging it to retain at least one outlet.
Report by Nqobile Bhebhe Senior Reporter
Ncube advised council to at least spare MaKhumalo Beer Garden in Makokoba for “sentimental reasons”, a confidential council report leaked to NewsDay has revealed.
Council has also hinted that in future, it might reclaim all outlets it had leased out and put them under Ingwebu Breweries management.
Of late, Ingwebu Breweries, a council beer concern, has been inviting potential businesspeople interested in running the outlets, to submit their bids.
However, according to a confidential report of a meeting of the business committee dated November 12, Ncube appealed to the city fathers to leave out the beer garden popularly known as Big Bhawa.
“I am writing as a very concerned and true son of the City of Kings requesting Ingwebu and council to retain the Big Bhawa in the hands of Ingwebu for sentimental reasons,” Ncube said in the report.
“It is appreciated that Ingwebu Breweries and council are offloading the beer outlets to private individuals on account of business ethos that call for profitability.
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“For the history, pride, ethos and sentiments with respect to Umuzi weNkosi, let only one beer outlet remain ezandleni zabantu (in the hands of the masses) represented by Ingwebu and the city council.
“Okwangekhaya ngokwethu (This is our asset) let council/Ingwebu retain that famous name by continuing to operate the Big Bhawa . . .”
Ingwebu Breweries, the council’s commercial undertaking, had dismissed Ncube’s appeal.
But council has since “requested the board to consider retaining MaKhumalo (Big Bhawa) and Madlodlo beer gardens under Ingwebu management while all other remaining outlets are franchised to individuals”.
The local authority said maintaining Big Bhawa under its current administration would ensure that there is “institutional memory of operating beer outlets”.
“It is critical that beer outlet management skills are kept alive in the strategic business unit as there is a possibility to take all outlets back to management by Ingwebu in future”.
The business committee is due to meet today to discuss the report.
