HARARE is set to amend the Harare (Omnibus) (Amendment) by laws, 270 of 1977, introducing provisions which will see the city punishing operators who pick passengers at undesignated places as well as passengers standing at undesignated places.
It will also introduce the Harare (Dog Licensing) By-Laws 2015 which will see the city limit the number of dogs kept on premises depending on the size of one’s property.
 |
| New Kombi, Dog By-Laws Loom |
According to the recent minutes of the Environmental Management Committee acting town clerk Mrs Josephine Ncube said that the legal division was in the process of updating several council by-laws to put them in line with the current global trends.
“She (Mrs Ncube) further reported that, by and large, the current by-laws were applicable. The first problem, inter alia with the 1977 by-laws defined omnibus as a motor vehicle carrying seven passengers, yet the modern trend was that an omnibus should carry at least 21 passengers.
“The most problematic area was that of penalties. The by-laws created a chain of offences, yet there was no provision on penalties making enforcement virtually impossible. The new amendments, therefore, sought to remedy this anomaly by devoting a whole section of offences and penalties,” read part of the minutes.
Council approved the amendment of the by-laws as well as the repeal of Harare (Dog Licensing and Control) By-laws of 1973 and the approval of the Harare (Dog Licensing) By-Laws 2015.
Mrs Ncube said the problem with the 1973 by-laws was that they did not limit the number of dogs kept on premises.
“As long as one had a licence, there was no limit on how many dogs one could keep. The proposed laws therefore sought to remedy this anomaly by introducing restrictions based on the size of one’s property.
“The bigger the property the more the number of dogs permitted to be kept thereon and vice versa. The committee noted that the current by-laws also did not have a provision regulating the conduct of people in the presence of dogs, for example, the issue of provoking a dog, harassing or inciting it to attack a person,” read part of the Environment Management Committee.
The current by-laws did not have anything on what happens when a dog had not been sterilised. The new by-laws empower council to sterilise stray dog.
