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Innocent Ruwende Municipal Reporter
Harare City Council has finally agreed to sell part of Harare Gardens to hospitality group African Sun Ltd which intends to expand Crowne Plaza Momomotapa Hotel to include a state-of-the-art conference centre among other facilities.

Councillors were divided over the expansion and it was referred back to committee twice but on Thursday the matter was put to vote with 18 councillors voting in favour of the deal, with 14 against.

Six councillors did not vote.

The council, which is struggling to pay salaries and providing basic services to residents, will pocket $1,76 million from the deal.

The hospitality group, which also intends to construct an international open-air restaurant and a bar, will buy two hectares stretching north into Harare Gardens covering the portion encumbered by Les Brown Swimming Pool as well as the portion measuring 2 050 square metres, currently being occupied by the car park at an estimated cost of $1,76 million.

In September last year, African Sun Ltd signed an agreement with Legacy Group of Hotels (Legacy), under which the South African company will manage five African Sun Limited hotels including the Crowne Plaza Monomotapa Hotel.

Council minutes showed that in 2010, African Sun signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as a founder for the joint venture agreement for development of a shopping mall and expansion of the Crowne Plaza Monomotapa Hotel.

In terms of the envisaged joint venture, three floors of parking, commercial shopping facilities, commercial offices, executive residential apartments and the expansion of the hotel were going to be undertaken.

According to the recent minutes of the Finance and Development Committee, Legacy Hotels advised that their intended development required at most, five acres of the 54 acres of Harare Gar- dens.

“The development would link the current City of Harare car park, Les Brown Swimming Pool, the current African Sun hotel (Monomotapa Hotel) and the National Arts Gallery,” reads the min- utes.

African Sun Limited’s plans for the hotel expansion will include construction of a 1 200 to 1 500-seater conference facility, an internationally-themed 200-seater open-air restaurant and bar, 200 parking bays for use by the hotel and upgrading and maintenance of the public facilities in the vicinity.

It also includes the construction of health and racquet sports facilities, incorporating Les Brown Pools.

Meanwhile, Harare City Council has approved plans to use Coronation Park land as collateral security to ZB Bank in order to secure a loan of $1,5 million to capitalise its business units, Sunshine Meats and City Parking, report Talent Gore and Shamiso Makiwa.

According to the recent minutes of the joint finance and development and business committee, Acting Town Clerk Mrs Josephine Ncube reported that the bank would only release funds to a going concern.

“The committee considered a report by the Acting Town Clerk Mrs Ncube on a request to offer Coronation Park land as collateral security to ZB Bank against a loan facility amounting to $1,5 million for enhancing the operations of City Parking (Pvt) Ltd in the sum of $700 000 and Sunshine Meats (Pvt) Ltd in the sum of $800 000 respectively,” reads the minutes.

Mrs Ncube reported that council last year approved the offer of Coronation Park as collateral security to ZB Bank in securing a loan of $1.7 million for enhancing the operations of City Parking, Sunshine Meats, Pest Control, Harare Mabvazuva Village and the development of Harare House as an upmarket event facility.

Mrs Ncube advised that it was not legally tenable to borrow funds for non-existing entities.

She further advised that Harare Mabvazuva was a joint venture hence borrowing funds for this entity would require the approval of the board.

Councillors resolved to rescind the earlier decision to enhance the operations of the City Parking, Sunshine Meats, Pest Control, Harare Mabvazuva Village and the development of Harare House as an upmarket event facility.