Online Reporter
B-Metro Reporter
MORE than 160 000 home seekers are stuck on Bulawayo City Council’s housing waiting list, with Mayor David Coltart calling for a housing indaba to tackle the city’s housing crisis.
According to a council report, Coltart said council had land available for housing development but needed to address the growing demand for decent and affordable accommodation.
“The housing waiting list stood at approximately 160 000 applicants, while the City had land available for housing development.
“Council’s primary responsibility was to provide decent and affordable housing for working-class residents and people living in the informal sector,” Coltart said.
The mayor called for a housing indaba to comprehensively address the city’s housing challenges.
He also proposed digitising the housing system to improve transparency and ensure those who had waited the longest were prioritised when stands became available.
“He further stressed the need to digitalise the housing waiting list to improve its management and ensure transparency,” the report states.
“This would enable priority to be given to applicants who had been on the waiting list for the longest period whenever residential stands became available,” it adds.
Councillor Aleck Ndlovu said the Department of Housing and Community Services needed to be capacitated to improve housing delivery.
He criticised the growing dominance of private developers, saying “private developers had taken over housing delivery, which had driven up the cost of housing”.
Ndlovu suggested that council establish a brigade to support the building of houses.
Councillor Mxolisi Mahlangu said the situation had become more urgent following the arrival of thousands of people from South Africa who were also in need of housing.
He called for the urgent servicing of Hyde Park and allocation of residential stands to Bulawayo residents.
Mahlangu said council had the capacity to produce approximately 20 000 serviced stands per year, but areas such as Pelandaba West had not been adequately serviced.
He also raised concern over inadequate drainage in Mahatshula North and proposed that Hyde Park be prioritised before stands were allocated to residents who had been waiting for at least 10 years.
Councillor Nkosinathi Hove-Mpofu said resources and revenue generated from private developers should be channelled back into communities.
She emphasised that council should “utilise these resources to facilitate and expand housing development projects”.
Councillor Donaldson Mabuto called for the committee to visit Pelandaba West to assess work being undertaken by private developers.
