adminApart from building houses which were either sold to residents or rented out, councils sold serviced and in some cases virgin land to private housing developers such as building societies. Some companies have also built houses for their workers while a number of housing co-operatives have over the years also built houses for members.
Central Government on its part has come up with a number of housing schemes that have benefited residents in the different cities and towns. The housing waiting lists for the different towns and cities however continue to balloon, a confirmation that the output of houses is not matching the growing demand for shelter. Housing provision in fact ground to a halt during the economic meltdown witnessed by the country during the past few years hence the growing number of people without houses.
Housing construction in most cities and towns resumed soon after the introduction of multi-currency in 2009 but at a very slow pace. A few building societies have started constructing houses in the different towns but due to limited resources this is not on a large scale. It is therefore pleasing to note that cities like Bulawayo continue to avail housing stands to residents despite the economic challenges the council is facing.
According to the council’s director of housing, Mr Isaiah Magagula, the council has recently completed servicing about 10 000 housing stands in the city’s different suburbs. The stands are selling for between $3 200 and $8 300. The provision of stands to home-seekers is one of the practical ways of addressing the shortage of accommodation in the different towns and cities.
We have already pointed out that councils are facing liquidity challenges and are therefore finding it difficult to construct houses. The building societies and other private housing developers are also constrained by lack of working capital. It is against this background that we want to urge councils to provide more housing stands directly to individual home-seekers so that they can construct houses at their own pace as resources become available.
What is however important is for councils to come up with affordable terms when selling the stands.
The present selling terms for stands in Bulawayo are just too punitive given the level of salaries most residents are earning. The council is demanding as high as $4 140 deposit for a stand that costs $8 280 with the rest payable over 18 months and those that want to buy stands in the high density suburbs are required to pay a deposit of $1 615 for a stand that costs $3 231 and again the balance is paid over 18 months.
We want to implore the city council to relax its terms so that they are affordable to most home-seekers. In other towns such as Gweru, home-seekers are being asked to pay as little as $200 for low density stands and then pay monthly instalments of at least $100 which many residents could afford. It does not serve any purpose to churn out housing stands that can only be bought by a few rich people as is the case in Bulawayo.
We have said it before that it is every family’s wish to own a house but as long as the selling terms are not affordable to most home-seekers, those without houses will remain perpetual lodgers exploited by the rich. We want to once again implore the Bulawayo City Council to reduce the deposit money and spread the payment for a stand over a long period so that the terms become affordable to most home-seekers.
t is only when most residents without houses can afford the housing stands that council can significantly reduce its housing backlog which is reported to be about 98 000.
Online Reporter
Londile Moyo