The discontent was amplified last week when Mabuza arrived at City Hall for meetings in a recently imported Rolls-Royce Cullinan valued at approximately US$400 000.
The luxurious vehicle, bearing a personalized United Kingdom license plate “LC,” has been perceived by many as an ostentatious display of wealth, fuelling criticism over the terms of the TTI deal.
Under the contract awarded to TTI in 2020 and implemented in January 2022, the company receives 70 percent of the revenue collected from parking fees, while the City of Bulawayo retains the remaining 30 percent.
The agreement, which spans six years with a potential four-year extension, has been a flashpoint of contention among residents who feel the city is being shortchanged.
“It’s us as councillors who’re keeping the mob at bay, for now.TTI is the most unpopular company in this city, and seeing one of its directors flaunting wealth at City Hall only adds fuel to a raging fire,” one councillor remarked, requesting anonymity.
The councillor’s sentiments reflect a broader concern that the contract with TTI disproportionately benefits the company and its chairman while providing minimal gains for the city’s residents.
TTI initially set parking charges in the Central Business District (CBD) at US$1 for 30 minutes, prompting a public outcry. The rate was eventually adjusted to US$1 for one hour, but the change did little to placate residents, who continue to criticize the company’s operations.
Complaints have also emerged about TTI’s employees allegedly mistreating senior citizens and using aggressive vehicle clamping tactics to meet revenue targets.
In August this year, the City of Bulawayo disclosed that TTI had remitted just over US$1.5 million to the city from parking, clamping, and storage fees collected between January 1 and May 31, 2024.
Council officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, have suggested that TTI has entrenched itself within the city’s operations, with some senior figures at City Hall allegedly serving its interests.
These allegations have contributed to a sense of distrust and disillusionment among residents, many of whom are calling for the contract’s cancellation.
Efforts to contact Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) communications officer Kelebone Khabo for comment were unsuccessful, as his phone was unreachable.
