David Coltart on a drive to retain Byo industrial hub status, courts SA investors
Bulawayo- BULAWAYO mayor David Coltart has travelled to South Africa to court diasporan businessmen to invest in his city in a bid to retain the industrial hub status.
The City of Kings used to be the industrial hub but most buildings in Belmont have become white elephants and churches have taken over.
Companies like the Delma Lupepe owned Merlin went under.
Coltart said he made progress to cement bilateral relations between Bulawayo and Joburg.
“I had a productive meeting with His Honor Mayor of Johannesburg, Kabelo Gwamanda. We talked about how our two great cities can work better together in the future. I have invited the mayor to visit Bulawayo soon,” he said.
Coltart added that the BCC (Bulawayo City Council) Meet the Diaspora initiative fits well with the government’s call for diaspora Zimbabweans to invest in their homeland.
He said that he is stressed that the town’s immediate need was a reliable water supply for meaningful development.
He also expressed concern about the water situation and advocated the rehabilitation of the Nyamandlovu aquifer.
Coltart appreciated the government’s response to rehabilitate pumps and electricity connections to increase water production by 15 megalitres.
The former seemingly reformed Selous Scout also mentioned the importance of accelerating the construction of the Glass Block Dam in Filabusi, which will significantly improve the city’s water supply by 70 percent.
