BCC commissions serviced housing stands, plant machinery & vehicles

Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter

THE Bulawayo City Council on Friday commissioned newly acquired vehicles and earth-moving equipment worth thousands of dollars that are expected to improve service delivery in Bulawayo.

The commissioned equipment includes two refuse compactors, a grader and eight Nissan NP200 trucks. In June, council commissioned a grader, an excavator, a front-end loader, five Nissan NP200 trucks and four Mazda 50 pick-up trucks. Council now has a fleet of 324 vehicles but lamented the state of 231 of the vehicles which they said were obsolete and giving them operational challenges.

The commissioning of the equipment coincided with the commissioning of 117 serviced stands in Pumula South at a cost of US$380 000 which were sold under the presell scheme and are expected to reduce the housing waiting list backlog.

The commissioning of the stands is also in line with the Government’s thrust to deliver 470 000 houses or flats by 2030 with the first target being to deliver 220 000 houses or flats by 2025.  Speaking during the commissioning ceremony, Acting Mayor Councillor Ntombizodwa Khumalo said the city continued to have a growing backlog in its housing waiting list and it was their mandate to try and ensure that there was affordable and adequate housing for all residents.

“We are today commissioning 117 housing stands in Pumula South which were sold through the presell scheme and were serviced by the Bulawayo City Council. I congratulate the team for ensuring the success of the project and its completion. We note that in housing provision we need to avail quality housing that addresses inadequacies in infrastructure which usually bog down most urban local authorities,” said Clr Khumalo.

She said it was imperative to build inclusive cities which were safe for women and girls adding that there was a need to ensure the prioritisation of public lighting and other key services for a smart city.

“In addressing security and inclusion, we need to have well managed and modernised equipment that can revitalise urban spaces against lack of access to basic services. It is for that reason that the City of Bulawayo emphasises the need for housing construction to be coupled with the requisite services. The beneficiaries are getting stands that have been fully serviced,” said Clr Khumalo.

Turning to the consignment of vehicles and plant machinery, Clr Khumalo said she was glad that the vehicles were coming at an opportune time when the city needed to replenish its refuse compactor fleet which was prone to breakdowns.

“The two new vehicles will ease our challenges in refuse collection although we still need to purchase more for efficient refuse collection,” said ClrKhumalo.

Town clerk Mr Christopher Dube said the commissioned stands were all in an effort to provide adequate housing and reduce the housing waiting list backlog.

“Despite these efforts, the need for housing continues to rise and the call is for more and more land to be availed. We however, note that land is a finite resource and the focus should be on ensuring that in our new layouts, 40 percent of the land should have high rise development. This was unfortunately not the case in this project as the layouts did not take that into consideration. The 117 stands have been serviced with water, sewer, roads and public lighting,” said Mr Dube.

He also expressed his gratitude towards the commissioning of refuse compactors which he said were key in the collection of waste and keeping Bulawayo clean.

“The city requires a total of 26 refuse compactors at a time to adequately cover all suburbs and business areas. At the moment we have 12 functional compactors which include these two new compactors. The other ten, while still in their operational lifespan are on and off due to frequent breakdowns.

“This requires all of us to work together towards ensuring that we replace our obsolete machinery and equipment to ensure continued service delivery,” said Mr Dube.

In a speech read on her behalf, Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Cde Judith Ncube said the Government was committed to ensuring access to adequate shelter as a basic human right for every citizen.

She said the commissioning of the stands fulfils Government and the Local Government’s mandate of housing provision and ensuring access to adequate shelter.

“The country faces an increasing housing backlog and similarly Bulawayo is not spared. Also affecting adequate housing provision is the lack of access to social amenities and on and offsite infrastructure. I note that in Bulawayo various efforts are made where the stands are availed to ensure that the requisite infrastructure is available for project beneficiaries.

“May I also take this opportunity to congratulate the City of Bulawayo for purchasing this plant and equipment. The importance of machinery in service delivery cannot be overemphasised. It is my hope that the refuse compactors will go a long way in alleviating the challenges the city has been facing,” she said.

BCC Director of Housing and Community services Mr Dictor Khumalo encouraged the beneficiaries to follow the proper procedures in developing their stands. @nyeve14