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Sunday News Reporters
THE Bulawayo City Council has allayed fears that it will render thousands of Makokoba residents homeless when the suburb’s redevelopment project kicks off later this year.
The local authority recently announced an ambitious project that will see the city’s oldest suburb being redeveloped to create a densified residential area that supports and complements the activities of the Central Business District (CBD). The project has been termed the Makokoba local priority plan.
According to the plan the first phase will encompass Vundu hostels where the local authority will renovate the flats from being bachelors’ quarters to family accommodation.
Ward seven councillor, James Sithole said the rehabilitation would be implemented in such a way that no one would be rendered homeless.
“Makokoba has a long standing problem of shared accommodation where you find two to three families sharing one big room. Further the dilapidation of Vundu hostels is not a secret to anyone, which is why the exercise will start with the hostels.
“There are three flats at Vundu and not all of them are occupied, so when we redevelop them we will move people to two flats while we work on one of them, when we are through we move them back until we redevelop all of them. We will not necessarily demolish them but we want to modernise them such that they become family flats,” said Clr Sithole.
The councillor said the hostels were initially constructed in the colonial era, with the intention of accommodating men who came to the city for employment and had communal bathrooms, toilets and kitchens, which he said were no longer ideal in the modern day set up.
He said the thrust was to redevelop the suburb and turn it into a modern one, taking advantage of its proximity to the CBD.
“One issue which we agreed on is that the suburb should develop going upwards, which will not only solve the problem of shared accommodation but will help reduce the city’s housing backlog.
“To date we made a call for Expressions of Interest from potential investors, working with them we will make this process as smooth sailing as possible.
We are also open to more ideas, so anyone can approach our offices or myself as we try to make the redevelopment of the suburb a reality,” said Clr Sithole.
The local authority’s spokesperson, Mrs Nesisa Mpofu, declined to divulge more information regarding the project saying they were receiving expression of interest proposals from investors and she could only give a detailed response once they identify the investors who will work on the project.
“The City of Bulawayo would like to highlight that at the present moment we cannot give full details on the redevelopment of Makokoba. This is due to the fact that this would pre-empt submissions currently being received from respondents of Expressions of Interest that were invited from interested developers,” she said in an email.
According to a council report one of the funding mechanisms which the local authority is exploring in the redevelopment project is the Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) but this is in reliant with what the investors would offer.
“The proximity of Makokoba to the CBD has some inherent advantages for the local population such as minimal transport costs and access to high order services. However, the age and condition of infrastructure has limited its contribution to the fiscal wealth of the city.
“A variety of funding options are to be explored including partnerships and Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) arrangements with both local and foreign developers, redevelopment and densification are the key to the project. It should also be noted that the aspect of shared infrastructure is critical in the proposal,” reads the council report.
Residents interviewed by Sunday News said while they were excited on the redevelopment exercise there was a need for the local authority to clarify on the finer details including how they were going to be accommodated when the exercise commences.
“I heard the council wants to demolish our homes and build new ones for us but when this is taking place where do we go? Will they put us in a camp?
Again we do not know how long the project will take. They need to be clear with us,” said Mr Mkhululi Ngwenya of Vundu hostels.
Residents at the hostel further lamented the poor living conditions, revealing that they even feared using the toilets at dawn or dusk because there were no lights in the corridors.
“We do not go to the toilet when the sun sets or early in the morning because of the amount of thieves at the flats. You can get stabbed and robbed as there are no lights,” said one resident.
One of the hostels has been without electricity for the past five years as cables and equipment were stolen with the cost of the repair and debt estimated to be in the region of $200 000 which the councillor said was not economic to repair because of the rate of vandalism.
The Vundu hostels were declared unfit for human habitation over 20 years ago but have been home to dozens of people who have been having accommodation challenges in the city.
The second phase of the redevelopment of Makokoba is the Bulawayo Municipal Council (BMC) houses.
The homes were initially built to house security personnel of the council but over the years this has changed as the compound is now home to hundreds of non-security person which the council can no longer evict.
The compound was initially designed to have the security people move away when they retire or acquire land to build their own homes but this has not taken place. The homes are being let out to different people.
Historically, Makokoba was the first black African township in the city, it has been termed the home of arts and culture, with the Amakhosi Cultural Centre located just in the vicinity.
The suburb was named after the actions of a Mr Fallon, the then native commissioner, who used to walk around with a stick. The name comes from the word ukukhokhoba which in the local isiNdebele language means “bending and walking with a stick”.
It was referring to Mr Fallon as “the little old man who walks with a stick.”
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