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Walter Mswazie Masvingo Correspondent
Masvingo residents have appealed to council to urgently repair the city’s street lights to curb rampant mugging. The residents said the muggings were on the increase in most of the city’s suburbs and this should be a wake up call for the city fathers to repair street lights. Masvingo United Ratepayers and Residents Alliance spokesperson Mr Godfrey Mutimba last week said residents were worried about the absence of street lights in residential areas and challenged council to address the problem.

“We have engaged council over the issue of street lights, which are not working but it seems the city fathers are paying lip service to the problem,” he said.

“There is urgent need to rehabilitate street lights as almost all of them are no longer functional, particularly in most high density suburbs.” Mr Mutimba said it was now risky for residents to walk at night as criminals were taking advantage of the darkness to attack them.

“There is a growing risk of being mugged at night because most street lights are not working, he said. These are basic service delivery issues that need to be addressed as a matter of urgency. Poor or no lighting at night has a bearing on human life. We, therefore, call on council to ensure that all street lights are repaired.”

Town Clerk Mr Adolf Gusha said council was working around the clock to address the problem and assured residents that street lights would be functional during the course of the year.

“We are more concerned with the situation of poor lighting due to the malfunctioning of street lights, he said. I do not want to pre-empty what we are doing but serious engagements are taking place. Nothing yet has been presented to a full council.”

Masvingo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Charity Mazula concurred that the rising cases of theft and unlawful entry, house breaking and mugging in the country’s oldest town was due to poor lighting.

Last year, council awarded a youth organisation, Joshua Generation, a tender to install solar street lights in the central business district, but the project suffered a stillbirth after the firm failed to raise the $4 million required for the project.