Cowdray Park poised for dormitory town status, says Minister Mthuli Ncube

FINANCE, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube has said Bulawayo’s rapidly expanding Cowdray Park suburb has the potential to evolve into a fully-fledged dormitory town, underscoring the urgent need for accelerated investment in roads, schools, water, sewer infrastructure and other essential public services.

Prof Ncube made the remarks on Saturday when he briefly joined members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Local Government, Public Works and National Housing during their fact-finding mission to assess housing projects, informal settlements and dysfunctional settlements in Bulawayo.

The committee, chaired by Mazowe Central legislator Dr Maxmore Njanji, toured Cowdray Park Hlalani Kuhle/Garikai, Richmond Landfill Site informal settlement, Sidojiwe, Burombo Flats and Iminyela suburb as part of Parliament’s constitutional oversight role aimed at informing policy recommendations on housing delivery and urban development.

Welcoming the legislators to Cowdray Park, Prof Ncube said the visit would give them first-hand appreciation of the enormous infrastructure demands facing one of Bulawayo’s fastest-growing residential areas.
“You are here at Cowdray Park and I believe you can appreciate the challenges that exist here. We have issues of road infrastructure, clean water, sewer systems and ensuring that people are properly settled. These are some of the key areas that require urgent attention,” he said.

Minister Ncube said the suburb’s rapid population growth meant planning could no longer be approached from the perspective of an ordinary residential area.

“In terms of education infrastructure alone, Cowdray Park requires about 30 additional schools. The suburb is bigger than Gwanda and in the next few years it will be like another Chitungwiza in Bulawayo. It will eventually require its own local board because of its size and growing population,” he said.

He said the area’s continued expansion would inevitably increase demand for housing, roads, electricity, sewer reticulation and other social amenities, making coordinated planning between Central Government, the local authority and development partners indispensable.

“The demands are many. It is housing, roads, schools, sewer infrastructure and electricity. We must continue working together to ensure that the suburb develops in a planned and sustainable manner,” said Prof Ncube.
The Minister said Government was already implementing interventions to improve living conditions in the suburb, revealing that another infrastructure programme targeting public lighting would begin within weeks.

“In about two weeks we will launch another programme with the City of Bulawayo to repair up to 50 high-mast tower lights so that the area is properly illuminated at night.

This is part of our broader efforts to improve safety and the quality of life for residents,” he said.
Minister Ncube urged Members of Parliament to continue supporting initiatives aimed at improving service delivery in rapidly growing urban settlements, saying suburbs such as Cowdray Park required development approaches that reflected their unique characteristics.

“We must continue encouraging each other to support urban settlements such as Cowdray Park. It has characteristics of both an urban and developing settlement, which means we need to think differently about how we provide infrastructure and services. Working together, we can uplift this community,” he said.

The parliamentary committee’s nationwide assessment of housing projects and settlements is expected to culminate in recommendations to strengthen Government housing programmes, improve service delivery and support the country’s Vision 2030 development agenda through sustainable and well-planned human settlements.