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Pamela Shumba, Senior Reporter
THE Bulawayo City Council has said it will come up with a framework to deal with people who fail to develop their stands after noting the difficulties faced by residents in carrying out building projects due to the prevailing economic challenges.
The High Court last week gave local authorities the green light to repossess properties that remained undeveloped.
Justice Nicholas Mathonsi ruled that as long as the lease agreement or agreement of sale stipulates timeframes within which stands must be developed they must be adhered to. The judge made the ruling while dismissing an application by Kingdom Kamangira who was contesting the repossession of his commercial stand in Zengeza by Chitungwiza Municipality.
Bulawayo Mayor Councillor Martin Moyo yesterday described the ruling as a wake-up call to owners of idle stands.
He said the city council has in the past years relaxed the conditions on undeveloped stands, but expressed concern that some people were taking more than 10 years to develop their properties.
“The ruling is a wake-up call to people who have taken years to develop their stands. Originally the city council gives people two years to put up structures on their stands but it has become unreasonable, looking at the economic situation in the country. I don’t want us to ride on the ruling because it is based on an individual,” said the mayor.
“We’re, however, in the process of coming up with a framework to deal with people who have bought stands and taken years to develop them. While the economic situation has not improved, it’s still important for residents to try and put up structures on their stands.”
He said it was unfortunate that hundreds of stands sold by the council were lying idle at a time when thousands of residents on the housing waiting list are in desperate need of accommodation.
“There is a high demand for stands from people who are capable of putting up structures and we’re worried that some people are going for more than 10 years without developing their stands.
“We’re therefore coming up with strategies to encourage people to show interest in developing their stands. There should be evidence that the stand was bought for accommodation purposes. If it remains a bush for several years then we begin to think it was for speculative purposes,” said Clr Moyo.
He said council notified hundreds of people with undeveloped stands that they risked losing them but there was little response. Those who responded indicated that they did not have money to develop the stands.
“We’ve put up adverts notifying residents with undeveloped stands to show cause why they have not developed them but only a few responded.
Occasionally we repossess undeveloped stands, but only a few corporates have been affected. We try to give ample notice and reminders but if there is no response we may repossess and sell the stands to people who are capable of putting up structures on the stands,” said Clr Moyo.
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