adminAuxilia Katongomara Chronicle Reporter
THE Bulawayo City Council has converted rented houses built under the Emganwini Millenium Houses project to home ownership in compliance with a government directive compelling all local authorities to transfer into home ownership scheme houses built for rental occupation.
Emganwini residents have been renting the houses since 2002.
Last year, Public Works, Local Government and National Housing Minister Ignatious Chombo ordered all local authorities to transfer rented houses in their areas into home ownership as part of government’s move to purge the ballooning housing backlog presently hovering around 1,5 million countrywide.
“We’re compelling all local authorities in Zimbabwe especially the major cities who’ve had houses on their books for the last 20 or more years being rented out to families, to sell them to sitting tenants and title deeds given to them,” said Minister Chombo then.
According to the latest council report, the local authority has finally resolved to hand over the homes to the residents who have over the years pleaded with council to be given title deeds of the houses.
“The Director of Housing and Community Services submitted on April 9 the conversion from rented home ownership of the Emganwini millennium housing. Thereafter, it was resolved to recommend that Emganwini Millennium houses be converted to home ownership to sitting tenants as shown on the appended schedule.
“That the Financial Director computes loan repayments for a period of up to 10 years where beneficiaries are not able to pay the purchase price at once,” reads the report.
The council also resolved that beneficiaries who are not able to take the home ownership option would remain on rented accommodation.
The issue of home ownership has been a bone of contention in Bulawayo’s council-owned houses in Iminyela, Mabutweni and Millennium in Emganwini suburbs, where residents have sought home ownership without success.
Emganwini residents have been demanding ownership of the houses that were built by Australian donors and allocated to them 10 years ago.
They have sought explanation from the Bulawayo City Council as to why they should pay for them, arguing that in their understanding, the houses were completely paid for.
Residents said they should be paying for rates and service charges only.
The local authority is battling a housing backlog of over 100,000 and as part of its plans to alleviate the backlog it introduced the pre-sell housing projects.
BCC began the pre-sell programme by servicing the Mahatshula North medium density suburb and Pumula and Emganwini high density stands between 2012 and 2013.
In March this year, the local authority handed over nearly 400 serviced residential stands in a new suburb, Emlangeni, to beneficiaries as part of its pre-sell housing projects.
Under the pre-sell model, which allows for beneficiaries to provide necessary funds for servicing of stands, would-be home owners enter into a one year payment plan with the BCC in which an initial deposit of 35 percent of the stand’s value is paid. A further 35 percent would be paid after six months.
The balance is payable after 12 months.
However, some residents have criticised the model saying it only benefitted medium to high income earners only.
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