Bulawayo parking firm boss rolls into City Hall in US$400k Rolls Royce

BULAWAYO
–
The
owner
of
the
parking
management
company
in
Bulawayo
which
claims
70
percent
of
revenues
turned
up
for
meetings
at
City
Hall
in
a
US$400,000
Rolls
Royce
Cullinan,
ZimLive
can
reveal.The
expensive
motor,
which
appears
to
have
been
recently
imported,
bore
a
personalised
United
Kingdom
licence
plate,
LC,
thought
to
belong
to
the
previous
owner.

Lizwe
Mabuza,
the
chairman
of
Tendy
Tree
Investments
(TTI),
is
racking
in
the
cash
after
securing
a
favourable
deal
with
the
city
to
collect
parking
fees
for
70
percent
of
the
revenue,
while
the
city
gets
30
percent.

Bulawayo
residents
have
been
clamouring
for
the
cancellation
of
the
contract
which
is
initially
for
six
years
from
January
2022
to
December
2027,
with
an
option
to
extend
for
a
further
four
years.
The
contract
was
awarded
in
2020
but
took
two
years
to
implement.

Council
officials
who
spoke
to
ZimLive
told
of
their
shock
at
Mabuza’s
“tone-deaf”
display
of
opulence
during
his
visit
to
City
Hall
on
Thursday
last
week,
as
calls
for
a
review
of
the
contract
grow.

“It’s
us
as
councillors
who’re
keeping
the
mob
at
bay,
for
now.
It’s
a
fact
that
TTI
is
the
most
unpopular
company
in
this
city
and
to
have
this
obscene
display
of
wealth
at
City
Hall
by
one
of
the
company’s
directors
is
adding
fuel
to
a
raging
fire,”
one
councillor
said,
asking
not
to
be
named.

Council
officials
speak
in
hushed
tones
about
TTI,
some
warning
that
the
company
has
deeply
embedded
itself,
with
senior
figures
at
City
Hall
allegedly
doing
its
bidding.

TTI
initially
set
charges
for
30-minute
parking
in
the
CBD
at
US$1,
triggering
an
outcry
from
residents.
The
charges
were
reduced
and
now
US$1
covers
an
hour.
The
company’s
employees
are
accused
of
mistreating
senior
citizens
and
employing
uncouth
vehicle
clamping
tactics
in
order
to
meet
targets.

In
August,
the
City
of
Bulawayo
revealed
that
TTI
had
remitted
just
over
US$1.5
million
as
its
share
in
parking,
clamping
and
storage
fees
collected
between
January
1,
2024,
and
May
31.
TTI’s
cut
would
be
over
two
times
the
amount
given
to
the
council.

Bulawayo
mayor
David
Coltart
ran
for
office
vowing
to
relook
at
the
TTI
contract,
but
he
has
since
cooled.