By Cde Patriot Sungungura

Glen View 8 home industry has done it again getting burned down like it’s on a spiritual schedule.

This past Sunday, just as traders were preparing to hawk their wardrobes, sofas, and hopes, a fire broke out at dawn, turning dreams into smoke.
Again.

Security guards, warming themselves with a little mabhero bonfire, apparently caused the fire.

By 5 AM, the inferno was dancing through the furniture like it had paid rent.

Over 100 traders are now back to square one, sifting through ashes like gold panners in despair.

Damages are estimated to be about a whooping US$100,000.

Firefighters arrived just in time to make sure the flames didn’t move to Highfield.

But this is not just another sad fire. No. This is Glen View 8’s unofficial annual fire festival.

The last one was in 2023. Before that, pick a year.
Like clockwork, the government dispatched its high-ranking tender recommenders—local government minister Daniel Garwe and small and medium enterprises minister Monica Mutsvangwa who, wearing serious faces and pressed suits, ironically sat on very comfortable couches before surveying the charred ruins with solemn nods.

The visit confirmed one thing, a multi-million tender is loading.

Sources close to the spirit medium of state contracts say it’s only a matter of time before one of the notorious Zviganandas is handed the redevelopment gig.

Expect a shiny artist’s impression of a “People’s Market” with glass walls, biometric kiosks, and “fireproof prayer rooms.”

The City of Harare’s SME Committee Chair, Denford Ngadziore, is optimistic. “This is the time for modernisation,” he declared, probably imagining ribbon-cutting ceremonies and PPPs dancing in his head.

Of course, formal payments to Council will now resume—after four years of traders doing their own thing and somebody “accidentally” redirecting the funds.

Investigations are promised. Prosecutions are threatened. Belief is withheld.

But let’s not forget the brighter side: over 30 kiosks are coming soon! Maybe even with solar lights and inspirational quotes like “Wadzidza here kuridza fire extinguisher?”

In a land where ambulances arrive after the funeral and water taps are purely decorative, Glen View 8’s fire curse is a gift that keeps on giving to tenderpreneurs.

So here’s to the next inferno. And to the next Zvigananda who’ll “build back better,” hopefully with less plywood and more fire exits.

After all, what’s Glen View without a bit of annual combustion and post-disaster construction capitalism?