Municipal Reporter
BEITBRIDGE Municipality (MoB) has ordered property owners to clearly display their stand or house numbers in compliance with the Urban Councils Act.
In a notice issued on Friday, the municipality stated that all property owners, tenants, and occupants within its jurisdiction must ensure their premises have visible numbers.
“Clear property numbering is essential for emergency response, enabling rapid deployment of Fire Brigade, Ambulance, and Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) services,” read the notice signed by Town Clerk Loud Ramakgapola.
“It also assists public utility delivery, for example, improving accuracy in water meter reading, refuse collection, mail delivery, and infrastructure repairs.”
The municipality said proper numbering helps service delivery teams and visiting stakeholders locate premises easily.
“Numbers must be affixed to the main entrance of the property or in some other conspicuous position so they are clearly visible from the road,” the notice continued.
“All vegetation, overgrown trees, or temporary structures obscuring the numbers must be trimmed or cleared immediately.”
MoB urged all business operators and property owners with missing, damaged, faded, or obscured numbers to replace them.
The council warned that if residents fail to comply, it will install the numbers in terms of the Urban Councils Act and bill the property owners for the cost, adding that it expects the usual cooperation from residents.
The lack of proper house numbering has previously been blamed by police and other emergency service providers for delaying their response times when trying to locate specific addresses.
“Police have often raised concerns that their reaction teams are sometimes delayed by missing or distorted numbers when responding to emergencies. Any civilised society should clearly label its locations,” said one Beitbridge businessman.
However, he blamed the municipality for the current situation, arguing that standardising the plates should have been strictly enforced earlier.
He suggested the council could generate extra revenue by selling standardised number plates directly to property owners, taking a cue from the government’s motor vehicle number plate exercise