Zimbabwe + Law = Don’t be ridiculous
Kenny Road runs from Avondale Shops on King George Road west to Kensington shops on Connaught Road. A street of suburban homes between two choice shopping and community centres.
Along this road, people have converted two houses (with a swimming pool) into restaurants and bars. They are ‘Actor Café’, at 7 Kenny Road, and next door ‘Number 9 Pub and Restaurant’. You can see the houses behind hedges, and they are well advertised on the street, so they are easy to find. However, they are illegal.
In October 2006, number 7 applied for a license as a ‘meeting house’. Council refused (meeting of the Environment Management Sub-Committee of the City Council, on 31 October 2006, Item 27 of the minutes) for the following reasons. 1) a site inspection revealed that a restaurant was already being run there! 2) the residents were opposed.
A restaurant is legally a ‘shop’, and this area is not zoned for commercial activity. So commercial activity already prohibited, aside from the fact that they had set up and were running an illegal entity before they even applied. Not to mention they applied for a licence as a ‘meeting place’ when they obviously fully intended to keep running a restaurant.
The first letter in my possession, dated 22 November 2006, reads; To; Mr. Mange He Ho, 7 Kenny Road. From; Psychology Chiwanga, Director of Urban Planning Services, City of Harare. Re; (7 Kenny Road), Avondale, says – there was a meeting to consider the application and it was refused for two reasons.
So, proper procedure had been followed, proper notice given, everything completely open and transparent. We all know it is not to be.
The second letter in my possession is from the Kenny Road residents to Mrs. Vhutuza, Urban Planning, City of Harare, dated 9 July 2009. It complains that nothing has been done. The residents are aware it is illegal, and yet the restaurants are quiet clearly there, and making a lot of noise as they expected (reason for objecting to it in the first place, three years ago).
So the city responds, 28 July 2009. Again, from Psychology Chiwanga, Director of Urban Planning Services, City of Harare. He points out that inspections were carried out, 13 July 2009, and indeed, these revealed both properties had been turned into restaurants, without approval.
Not only without approval, but he takes care to point out that approval could never be given! They are in ‘Residential Zone 1A(i)’, where commercial use is prohibited. And they fall into a zone where a Blanket Enforcement Order has already been issued (and published in the press).
Copies of this letter were sent, for appropriate action to be taken, to:
Secretary, Liquor Licensing Board
Officer in Charge, ZRP Avondale
Director of Health Services
Now, in August 2010, it is all thrust at me! In my wanderings in my area, I can clearly see that the restaurants are open and advertising. Taking in customers. Doing ‘normal’ business, quite openly and dishonestly.
To start, we have one restaurant (two now) operating for, at least, four years. They applied for a license (not even the correct one) when they were already operating as a restaurant, in 2006, and were refused (as the law requires).
So they have been operating illegally, taking in money and one assumes not paying tax etc, for at least four years.
The authorities (Police, City, Liquor Licensing, Health) are aware of it, have investigated it and seen it to be illegal, have communicated with each other on it’s illegality, and have done nothing. For four years!
Is Zimbabwe a country where the rule of law prevails? Certainly not in this case. It is illegal in terms of health. It is illegal in terms of zoning and use. It is illegal in terms of license (several – Liquor, Restaurant/Tourism tax, probably more). Do the police know of this and stop it? Yes and no.
I see Theresa Makoni, Co-Minister of Home Affairs, is reported to have made recent remarks, “the police are now executing their duties professionally”. Is this what constitutes “professionalism” in her opinion? There has been letters sent (does the post office not work?) by one authority to another. Can one authority not write? Or another not read? We assume they can, therefore the information must have been passed. Yet, quite obviously, the law is being broken, and nothing is being done.
While this might be the neighbours’ problem – they suffer from the loud noise until sun up, parking in the street, a security problem, etc., What about all the rest of us? We have a Health Ministry that really does not care about Health. Or they would not let an unlicensed establishment operate. We have a Liquor Board that does not care if, or who, alcohol is sold to. Aside from the loss of revenue – which they would not get as it can never be licensed – they have no control of what is actually happening. We have a municipality, with it’s own police force (for which they are constantly asking to be given power of arrest), that will maybe clamp your car for not paying the parking meter, but will allow two restaurants to run (taking in a LOT more money than a parking ticket) for four years!
And the common people on the street? Who pays taxes, is supposed to respect the authority of the people in uniform, upholds the laws of Zimbabwe as they are written and decided in parliament? Well, you are getting taken for a ride. You are being abused. You are being horribly wronged. For everyone who pays their tourism tax – stop doing it! There is obviously no need. We have the real life example of establishments, who do not ‘appear’, getting away with it for four years. Everyone who applies for and gets licenses, and pays their regular license fees – don’t do it! There is no need! People get away with it for four years. The people who drive on the left hand side of the road – don’t bother. It may be ‘the law’ but who cares? People break the law for four years (in a big way, it is difficult to hide two houses, and they advertise!) and no one arrests them.
The rumour is (and it is a rumour, there is no evidence at all), they are paying someone ‘powerful’ / in government / influential, etc. Well, whoever they are paying, he (or she) should be in jail. Aside from the fact that they are stealing our money (you and I pay taxes in an open and honest manner, that goes into a public purse, while ‘others’ make a living without anything going back to the public purse, so we are asked to pay more taxes), he/she giving us a health risk, aiding the misuse of alcohol, (very possibly increasing the AIDS epidemic), destroying the authority of the police (and other uniformed services by extension), and more ramifications that their pocket (which gets bigger everyday) is not concerned about. They are selling your soul/health/good life/education/safety for their personal gain.
But that is okay; it is only the neighbours problem.