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One of the councils’ crucial obligations is to provide accommodation to residents. Councils can either build houses which are then sold to home seekers, provide serviced stands to enable home seekers to build their own houses, provide serviced land to private developers and these days due to cash flow challenges, councils are also providing virgin land to private developers that include housing co-operatives.
Councils have over the years been battling to clear housing backlogs and the economic challenges the country experienced during the last decade has worsened the situation. The cash flow challenges have forced some councils to suspend construction of houses and instead are using the limited cash available to service stands which are then sold to either individuals or companies that are into housing construction.
In some cities desperate home seekers have resorted to construction of sub-standard structures while squatter camps have mushroomed in most cities and towns. Councils are therefore battling to bring sanity to their respective cities or towns by destroying these substandard structures but due to acute shortage of accommodation, new structures are coming up everyday.
There are many families that cannot afford to buy houses or build their own and many of these are renting council houses. Many of these council houses have been handed over from one generation to the other. Rentals charged by councils are in most cases very low as councils are aware that most of their tenants are poor families.
Redcliff municipality is one such council that is providing accommodation to poor families. According to the mayor, Clr Freddy Kapuya, the council tenants are paying as little as $6 a month for a four-roomed house which in our view is just as good as free accommodation. What is surprising is that some of the tenants who are paying this little, have gone for 10 months without paying a cent to council.
Landlords in cities like Bulawayo are charging rentals as high as $100 a month for a room in the low density suburbs and about $50 in the high density suburbs yet we have families that are failing to pay just $6 for a four-roomed house in Redcliff.
In a bid to force the defaulters to clear their arrears, Redcliff council recently locked out more than 200 families. Clr Kapuya said after locking the houses, about $90,000 had since been paid to council by defaulters. This is a confirmation that most families can afford the rentals but are just reluctant to pay. It is a fact that most families in Redcliff are out of employment after operations at the giant Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company now New ZimSteel were suspended.
Plans are underway to resume operations. Families renting council houses should strive to raise the little rentals to pay the council so that it continues to provide services. The bulk of Redcliff council’s income used to come from Zisco so its closure resulted in a drastic cut in council revenue. Council, it has to be appreciated, has to meet its financial obligations such as paying salaries as well as providing services and this is only possible if its residents and other ratepayers pay their bills.
We want to once again urge residents to clear their arrears so that council continues to meet its obligation to provide services as the mining town awaits the resumption of operations at New ZimSteel which is expected to breathe life into many downstream industries in and around Redcliff town.
derick.khumalo