New Mayor of Harare, Councillor Hebert Gomba yesterday visited a Mabelreign family whose house was gutted by fire.

Gomba who visited the family home in the company of area Councillor Denford Ngadziore and Member of Parliament, Joanna Mamombe pledged to assist with both financial and moral support.

Read message below from the area Councillor, Denford Ngadziore:

“In the early hours of today the 4th of september a fire broke out at numbr 8 5th street Mabelreign.The fire completely destroyed the house and property worth thousands of dollars.Preliminary investigations have shown that an electrical fault could have been the cause of the fire. On behalf of the entire ward 16 family and the City of Haare Municipality l wish to express our deepest sympathy to the Zenda and Chifamba families for the loss of property and greatful to God for the lives saved.

A delegation from Harare City Council led by His Worship the Mayor of Harare Clr Hebert Gomba and Harare West Member of Parliament Ms Joana Mamombe has today this afternoon paid visit to the Zenda and Chifamba families. The delegation also comprised of Harare City Area Manager for the area Mrs Mverechena, Malborough and Mabelreign District officer Mrs Kanoengera.We have made assessments and pledged to assist the Zenda family with both financial and moral assistance during this moment of difficulties.

The fire has robbed Mr and Mrs Zenda together with their four Children (Secondary School Boy and a Girl and tweens aged 3yrs). We are appelling to those who can further assist Mr and Mrs Zenda recover from this accident.They can be contacted on number 0774352335:

Our assessment and from the conversation we had with the family we have summarised that the following are part of the Zenda family’s urgent needs and donations can be made AT MABELREIGN HARARE CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT OFFICER MR KANOJERERA OFFICE

-Blankets
-Clothes
-School Uniforms (Secondary School Girl and Boy)
-Food
-Alternative(free) Accommodation

Below are long term priorities for House Owner Mr Chifamba:

Building materials

Volunteers in the following areas

-Plumbers
-Electricians
-Builder’s
General hand volunteers.

*WE ARE A PEOPLE KNOWN FOR STRETCHING OUR HANDS TO THE NEED. LET’S HELP THEM*

The incident is one of disasters that struck unexpectedly. Planning is important. As your Councilor l feel it is very important for those who can afford to insure their houses and household property to do so and avoid total loss of property or livelihoods.

After a quick research this evening i noticed that insurance companies are charging the following:

-0.1% plus 5% stamp duty (levied on the 0.1%). Which means if ones’ property is worth 100 000 he/she pays $105 per annum. A house is insured at a reasonable price which guarantee security of investment as well as the human right to shelter.
-Avoid or try to prevent fires.

*HERE ARE SOME CHECKS/TIPS TO AVOID FIRES*

-Check the electrical cords and replace all frayed wires
-Do not pitch or cover electrical cords with interns such as rugs.
-Do not overload circuits.
-Any questions about your home electrical fault system, consult a licences electrician.
-Keep fire extinguisher readily available and know how to use it.

Read about more tips to help prevent cooking fires. Some tips are as follows:

-Do not place a space heater near furniture, curtains or other objects that could easily catch fire.

For emergencies contact the following:

-Fire Bridgade 04 720 206
-ZRP 04 777 777
-Ambulance 04 795051
-Zesa 04 310 377

Your Councilor
Denford Ngadziore
Ward 16
+263 773 010 371