Online Reporter
A RESIDENTIAL stand in Bulawayo’s high-density suburbs costs an average of $7 000, depending on size. In Harare, it is around $10 000.
A four-roomed house in Bulawayo’s west sells for about $30 000, while in high-density Harare it costs around $40 000.
As mortgage finance is generally unavailable, someone has to buy the stand in cash, after which they can start building their house. The same applies if they want a complete property; it is cash up front.
The prices are clearly prohibitive for an ordinary worker earning $500 monthly.
As such, some force themselves to be comfortable renting a room or two as they wait for that breakthrough.
For Mrs Primrose Ncube, a civil servant in Bulawayo, it was the Government which provided the breakthrough under the Accelerated Presidential Housing Scheme.
The National Social Security Authority backed the National Building Society to finance the building of hundreds of four-roomed houses in Emthunzini, a new high-density suburb in the city. She approached the two entities, secured mortgage finance and was allocated the property, one of the hundreds that are being built by Hawkflight and Maharba properties.
Mrs Ncube pays a modest monthly sum towards the acquisition of the house and hopes it will be hers after 15 years.
“I have been dreaming of owning my own home for years since I joined the civil service 10 years ago, but the prohibitive prices charged by land developers made it impossible,” said the teacher.
“When I heard about the Accelerated Presidential Housing Scheme and the affordable administration fee, I could not let the opportunity slip. Many people have lost money in bogus housing schemes, but this one gave us confidence because no one would risk using the President’s name in a fake project.”
Authorities say the scheme will deliver 4 000 housing units in Bulawayo.
Without this initiative, it was unlikely that Mrs Ncube and hundreds of her civil service peers would have been able to save enough to build a house such as the one she now soundly sleeps in.
They are grateful that the Government stepped in this way, facilitating housing ownership to a section of the population that had no hope of owning a house, considering their incomes.
“Today, I am a proud owner of a four-roomed house with water, electricity and a working sewer system,” beamed another Emthunzini beneficiary, Mr Sibusiso Ngwenya.
“I used to pay $200 for a two-bedroomed rental house, which is more than what I will now be paying monthly for the next 15 years. My biggest fear was renting for the rest of my life, but this scheme has given us dignity and security.”
The success of the Accelerated Presidential Housing Scheme in Bulawayo is a challenge to all local financial institutions, housing developers and employers across the country.
It is possible for them to structure funding and development models that deliver decent housing to the people while guaranteeing them competitive returns.
