daniel chigunwe
Gibson Nyikadzino Herald Correspondent
CONTRARY to unmerited reports that title deeds will not be availed to every deserving urban dweller, work within Government is at an advanced stage with aerial mapping currently underway while all relevant ministries are hard at work to ensure the legal instruments will be ready starting end of this month.
This is one of President Mnangagwa’s gifts to urban dwellers who for more than two decades have been receiving a raw deal from successive opposition councils that are often corrupt and work with land barons, dishing out residential stands to desperate home-seekers.
Last year, President Mnangagwa launched the Zimbabwe National Human Settlements Policy (ZNHSP), a programme spearheading the development of modern and affordable urban and rural human settlements and social amenities in a coordinated and sustainable manner.
Zanu PF Secretary for Information and Publicity Cde Chris Mutsvangwa yesterday said President Mnangagwa “reiterated his cast-iron commitment to urban householders that he will be handing out historic title deeds to them”.
Cde Mutsvangwa said President Mnangagwa has already pencilled a date for a scheduled ceremony on the road to permanent urbanisation for the majority population of Zimbabwe.
“The President has already pencilled a date for this game-changing ceremony on the long road of permanent urbanisation for the majority population of Zimbabwe. In the meantime, relevant ministries and agencies are feverishly at work to ensure the President’s ceremony will be a resounding success,” Cde Mutsvangwa said.
The Zanu PF national spokesperson also reiterated that the revolutionary party has over the past six decades fulfilled commitments it has enunciated.
“Zanu PF delivered a new freedom army for independence from colonial bondage. It returned conquered lands from the minority to the majority. It delivered on award-winning universal national literacy.
“The title deeds will be a game-changer as the reality of palpable prosperity is showered upon urbanites,” added Cde Mutsvangwa.
“There is no prevarication on this matter from the President. Some have misattributed statements by Minister Ziyambi to project the President’s commitment to this as a failure.”
National Housing and Social Amenities Minister Daniel Garwe last week told our sister paper, The Sunday Mail, that the Government had already started processing title deeds for some beneficiaries and the first phase will be complete by the end of March.
He said the first batch of title deeds will be handed to households in areas where houses were built on undesignated land, while the second phase will cover residential areas built on legal settlements. The process is being spearheaded by the Ministries of National Housing and Social Amenities; Local Government and Public Works; and Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development.
Over 15 urban settlements countrywide are undergoing the aerial mapping exercise being undertaken in phases. Suburbs mapped under the first phase include Eyecourt, Retreat, Caledonia, and Hopley in Harare, Cowdray Park in Bulawayo, and suburbs in Karoi, Mutare, and Masvingo.
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