Bulawayo's Cowdray Park Residents Inspire Self-Help With Launch of Transport Company

The residents recently established a transport company, starting off with two commuter omnibuses, in the size of an 18 passenger. The township, which is situated northwest of Bulawayo capital, has been facing transport blues, with private transport players short changing them willy-nilly.

The newly formed Cowdray Park Taxis Association (CPTA) unveiled its first commuter omnibuses aimed at easing transport woes in the high-density area, amid pomp and fanfare, with guests from all over Zimbabwe, and among them ZDDT officials.

The project was formed in March this year following an outcry by residents that they were being ill-treated and fleeced by public transporters. Cowdray Park residents contributed $60 per head towards the project which has now become the talk of the city. The company unveiled two kombis that are expected to start operating soon.

Cowdray Park councillor Collet Ndlovu, said the initiative by residents came as a relief from hassles they endured from commuter transport operators who charged residents willy-nilly.

Some of the residents, who spoke to ZDDT Correspondent, credited their developmental projects to the Trust, since they said that they attended a good number of developmental workshops courtesy of the organisation.

“We have attended workshops on self reliance, organised by ZDDT and that has encouraged us to contribute to this noble cause.” Said Lucia Khumalo, a resident.

 Aaron Nyathi, a resident in the same suburb, echoed the same sentiments and opted to appeal to ZDDT to spread their motivational workshops to the whole country if capacity allows them. “I am going to pray for ZDDT and their team to grow Zimbabwe, in developmental ideas, as they did in us,” said Nyathi.

Zimbabwe Development Democracy Trust, National Development Officer, Simon Spooner motivated by the residents’ sentiments, had this to say, “Our aim is to equip everyone with a sense of unity and a self-reliance mentality for the growth of the country. We will offer, to the community, more workshops on encouraging the volunteer spirit so as to grow the economy.”

A representative from the Bulawayo Provincial Affairs ministry Fikile Marovachanga, urged Zimbabweans to emulate Cowdray Park residents saying it was in line with the country’s economic blueprint.

“This is a good development and I wish all constituencies to emulate it. However, we need to tackle the issue of corruption head-on if we want to excel. In Zimbabwe almost everyone is corrupt,” Marovachanga said.

“We need transparency and I urge all passengers in kombis to be responsible so that we can curb corruption.”

Last year, residents resorted to barring commuter omnibuses from the township after they had unilaterally increased fares from R5 to $1 per trip.

They petitioned their Councillor Ndlovu to intervene and he tried unsuccessfully to convince the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company to provide buses that would ferry residents at a reasonable price, as there was no action from the equally struggling State-run transport operator.