BY NQOBANI NDLOVU
BULAWAYO City Council’s (BCC) Large City Hall and its revenue offices in the central business district are operating without fire alarm systems and extinguishers, exposing employees and visitors to danger in the event of emergencies.
Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) coordinator Emmanuel Ndlovu accused the council of having poor disaster management systems.
“It’s a pity council is behaving exactly like the government. Disaster management in Zimbabwe is not taken seriously. Our approach is to respond… Unfortunately, BCC has also taken that attitude,” Ndlovu said yesterday.
“Because of the link between disasters and development, expectations are that local authorities will be serious enough to preserve the little that we have. Surely, with a local authority said to be the best in Zimbabwe we expect better than this.”
A report on council’s emergency preparedness showed that the local authority was incapacitated, with no fire escape signage, fire extinguishers and fire alarm systems while fire escape routes are blocked by office furniture.
