3 300 home seekers set to receive stands

Work to service Mkoba 21 suburb where Gweru City Council sold housing stands to 3 300 home seekers 10 years ago, is nearing completion.

Beneficiaries who had almost lost hope as it took long to service the stands, are expected to start building their houses within the next two months.

Under this housing scheme, 2 000 stands were availed to the general public while 1 300 stands were sold to council employees.

The frustrated home seekers have over the years been putting pressure on council to complete the servicing of the stands.

Council has since engaged local companies, Sheasham, Wackdrive and Casas to service the stands.

In his State of the City address yesterday, Gweru mayor Councillor Martin Chivoko said the completion of Mkoba 21 housing project will significantly reduce the housing backlog which is at more than 34 000.

“The demand for housing has continued to rise with 34 568 home seekers on the council’s housing waiting list,” he said.

Clr Chivoko said council was also selling infill stands in Shamrock suburb where 367 stands have been identified and some in Mkoba 21 suburb.

“Council is fully committed to expediting the servicing of these stands to allow beneficiaries to build their houses. I have been informed by the developers that the servicing will be completed by April,” he said.

Clr Chivoko said council is also seeking additional land to address the city’s housing backlog.

He said council will soon present home ownership certificates to 198 residents in Mtapa, one of the city’s oldest suburbs.

The residents live in one-roomed and semi-detached cluster houses which were constructed in the 1940s in Mtapa Section 3 and 7.

After receiving the ownership certificates, residents will be free to make improvements to their houses such as constructing individual toilets and bathrooms. At the moment families are sharing the communal toilets and bathrooms.

Clr Chivoko said granting residents of Mtapa home ownership to enable them to make improvements to their properties is part of the city’s renewal programme meant to spruce up old suburbs.

In 2018, the Government announced an ambitious programme that will see the rehabilitation and development of some of Zimbabwe’s oldest residential suburbs to world-class status by 2030.

High-density suburbs such as Mtapa in Gweru, Mbare in Harare, Makokoba in Bulawayo and Sakubva in Mutare have been earmarked for upgrading under this programme.