BCC cracks down on illegal ECD centres, businesses

Several Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres in Bulawayo are operating without approved building plans and medically examined food handlers, as health inspectors uncovered widespread non-compliance across the city. This emerged in the latest council minutes, which show that last month the Bulawayo City Council issued 94 intimations or formal warning notices to businesses and organisations operating illegally, with pre-schools, butcheries, restaurants and lodges among the worst offenders. The April 2026 report of the Health, Housing and Education Committee, tabled before the full council, paints a worrying picture of widespread violations in the city’s commercial and food-handling sectors.

The 94 warning notices stemmed from 2 091 inspections carried out for routine compliance monitoring, shop licence inspections, non-trading premises inspections, renewal of registration certificates, health reports and domiciliary visits. Particularly alarming was the number of ECD centres and pre-schools, most of them located in Nkulumane, found operating without development permits, council-approved plans or medically examined food handlers. Among the cited institutions was Step Ahead ECD at 8990 Nkulumane, which was operating without a development permit and approved building plans.

The same institution was also flagged at a second location, 9013 Nkulumane, for similar violations. El-Shaddai Day Care and Pre-School at 2037 Nkulumane was found operating without council-approved plans, while its food handlers had not undergone medical examinations. Inspectors also noted overcrowding in classrooms.

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Other institutions cited included Future Builders Pre-School (3284 Nkulumane), St Limon Pre-School (3673 Nkulumane), Daveland Infant School (2480 Nkulumane), Future Champions Pre-School (2769 Nkulumane), Trinity Pre-School (2671 Nkulumane), Little Shining Stars Pre-School (5897 Nkulumane), Little Angels Day Care (5687 Nkulumane), Alpha Day Care (6149 Nkulumane) and Rise and Shine Day Care (3951 Nkulumane). Shiloh Heart Infant School at 9778 Amersham Road, Paddonhurst, was found operating with an expired permit and without approved building plans. Inspectors also discovered toilets had been converted into a storeroom, while poor housekeeping was observed on the premises. The health inspectorate further reported that cooked food continues to be sold illegally from street corners and vehicle boots, with some operators running illegal kitchens overnight at car parks.

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