Peter Tinashe Kaviya, Own Correspondent
The weekend is here and we are already engaged in our habits- a sip of a few cold ones as we chat with colleagues.
With every sip and chat, time moves and so do our senses, soon we enter a zone of wisdom that is inspired by the brew.
Pardon my errant manners, let me attempt to introduce myself. At least, I’m just a happy imbiber whose wisdom grows with every kiss of the frothy cup and with every nugget, I will write and share my ‘drunken wisdom’ with you every Saturday morning.
Hic Hic! …the froth is whispering louder today and asking, what will take for council to put in place a permanent remedy to the persistent Glen View Complex fires?
Last week the Glen View Industrial Complex spent some ‘quality time’ with a familiar foe- another fire. The fire is the third fire of 2026 and its said started around 2 pm and was ‘cooking’ from a section known as kuMaKitchen.
It’s another one -not invited or shy, just strolling like a regular who knows the bar tender by name and circumstance.
A fierce fire, reducing valued property and people’s dreams to charcoal. If this fire was a tenant, then the landlord would never worry about arrears.
There has been a total of 14 fires over the past two decades and not one of them has been conclusively traced to confirm the cause.
My drunken self thinks that with our gifted abundance of spiritual spectacles, it’s maybe time we call prophets to find the cause of the fire because it seems this has eluded the fire brigade for years.
The fact of the matter is that answers are needed because at this rate, we might equate the fires to Christmas- its guaranteed.
This got me thinking, will we ever see a lasting solution to these fire or hardworking entrepreneurs will continue to lose?
What will it take for authorities to prioritize the reforms. I’m quickly taken back to the Kariba Ferry disaster and realise that it took the loss of many lives for authorities to see that there was gap in transport and infrastructure between Kariba town and the rural side.
Are we going to be a nation of reaction rather than proactiveness.
Following the May 2026 fire, government confirmed fire cabinet approved a structural development of Glen View Area 8 Complex as part of the major steps to resolving the fire disasters.
In a statement, Civil Protection Chief Director Nathan Nkomo stated, Cabinet has already made a decision that we must come up with a structured plan for this place, and we are now moving to expedite that process together with provincial leadership, investors and other stakeholders.
The cabinet directive is one of many plans that include a Presidential State of Disaster declaration in 2025 that was meant to unlock emergency resources with the view of improving infrastructure like roads, food courts, water and importantly modern fire safety systems.
Many believe that accidental hazards and sabotage are top causes of these fires and a proper investigation will help put speculation to rest and most importantly identify the problems and hopefully solve them.
Identifying the cause does not only help with the fires but it’s also preserving property and the dreams of entrepreneurs that are faced with no income subjecting their families to poverty.
While there has been steady progress, the Glen View project must be prioritized a sustainable solution that provides suitable infrastructure and fire management systems must be fast tracked.
Industrial fires are not new to Zimbabwe, there are many case such in the world. In December 2025, eight people were killed when a fire ravaged the Balogun Market in Nigeria.
The council need to seek inspiration on remedies from case studies in Nigeria or the Gikomba Market of Kenya or the Dharavi Industrial Cluster of India.
Technology on fire remote suppression, management and early detection is vast and ready for implementation needs only will and investment.
New infrastructure with proper fireproof storage units can explore as well as zoning with fire guards as well as rapid response mechanisms.
Council have another blueprint to copy, the Mbare Musika Renewal project that was also a reactive project after another fire.
Solutions are there especially for a council that boasts of qualified engineers, what is needed is urgency and will buy anyway these are just my views- allow me to get back to refilling my wisdom
The thoughts in this article are just my nuggets of drunken wisdom- If you disagree, I urge you to drink first.
Happy Drinking!
