adminSifundiso Ndlovu Chronicle Reporter
ABOUT 4,000 beneficiaries of the Hlalani Kuhle/Garikai housing project in Bulawayo’s Cowdray Park suburb are still stranded after losing their stands in a double allocation scam two years after council took over the project, an official has said.Addressing residents at Emabutweni Hall during a budget consultative meeting on Sunday, Bulawayo City Council’s finance manager Isaac Matare said only 1,536 cases out of nearly 8,000 cases of double allocations have been resolved.
“We had 7,846 individuals affected by double allocations and 3,913 of those affected require new stands. So far we have resolved 1,536 cases,” he said.
“You’ll realise that housing is ranked number six on council’s priority list on the current budget as per residents’ proposal hence you’ll realise that we are not doing much on this sector because we start with the top priority which is water.”
Bulawayo United Residents’ Association chairperson Winos Dube said it was disturbing that the double allocation problem was taking long to be resolved.
“We call on the local authority and the government to urgently look at the matter. We can’t allow such a matter to drag on. If we come to a round table, we can map a way forward. Some affected people are open to contributing towards servicing of the land,” he said.
“Those people paid money and were allocated by authorities. We, however, had not heard of anyone brought to book for the confusion. And this is disappointing.”
During the meeting Matare said council has resolved to give residents ownership of houses in Mabutweni and Iminyela but said this would be done if residents construct own ablution facilities. The council had initially pledged to construct the facilities but of late it has cited lack of funding. Residents in these houses are using communal toilets in which up to four families share a single toilet. It has emerged that in some areas as many as 10 families share a toilet as most of them are no longer usable.
derick.khumalo