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The development is set to bring excitement to the residents some of whom have lived in the houses for more than 30 years.
Chamber secretary Mrs Sikhangele Zhou confirmed the development, but could not give more details.
“I am aware of the development but you can call the director of housing Mr Isaiah Magagula. He has all the details,” said Mrs Zhou.
Mr Magagula said the council was working on the issue but insisted that he would prefer speaking through the public relations office.
“Yes we are working on the issue but as council we have resolved to speak through one channel, the public relations, to avoid confusing the public. Liaise with Mrs Nesisa Mpofu (the senior public relations officer) and send your questions to us,” said Mr Magagula.
However, in an interview on condition of anonymity a senior official in the department of housing and community services said the local authority was processing the houses with the view of servicing them first before selling them.
The official said some of the houses had already been serviced and approved.
“This is a decision council took long back. There are about 3 300 houses in the area and council would only sell those that have been fully serviced. Some have already been approved and council has written letters notifying the occupants,” said the official.
“At the moment over 300 stands have been fully serviced. The houses would be sold at a cheaper price. We also consider the number of years one has stayed in the house. Some occupants have stayed there for about 30 years and they will only be required to pay for the value of the stand.
“Servicing of the stands entails putting sewer and water infrastructure and roads. For purposes of compliance with the law the houses should be stand-alone apartments. We have done the surveys to delimit the stands and we are left with installing the sewer and water system. In some houses we have added kitchens and toilets. In the long run the common toilets would be destroyed. We have also done some roads.”
The official, however, said progress in installing water and sewer infrastructure was slow due to inadequate funding.
He said the council had not been receiving funding for the project from its previous funders, the Ministry of Housing and Social Amenities as well as the Government’s Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP).
Although the official could not be drawn to disclose the price of the houses rumours doing the rounds in the area indicate that the houses would cost between $1 500 to $2 000.
At the moment about five households in the suburbs share a single toilet and a bathroom.
The occupants have repeatedly complained that most of the ablution facilities were in a deplorable state.
At some point there were reports that 10 or more families were sharing a single toilet because other toilets were out of order or had broken doors.
Ward 13 Councillor Lot Siziba and residents in the area expressed excitement over the development.
“That issue is minuted and the best person to talk to is Mrs Zhou. She will tell you how we have pushed for the adoption of that decision,” said Clr Siziba.
Mabutweni area residents associa-tion chairman Mr Joshua Mafu said the residents were informed about the issue a fortnight ago.
“We received the information two weeks ago. We understand some have already started benefiting. However, we urge the council to extend the houses, put sewer and water infrastructure first,” said Mr Mafu.
“If they cannot do that quickly they should give us these houses for free as there would be no justification for selling them to us when they have not incurred any cost.”
Mrs Mpofu had not responded to the questions as she was reported to be attending a meeting.
The transfer of ownership comes at a time when the council is battling to contain the ballooning housing waiting list estimated to be more than 100 000.
Online Reporter