adminKudzanai Gerede Business Correspondent
Fidelity Life Assurance is setting its eyes on the City of Mutare as it seeks to expand its housing developing business across the country, Business Post has learnt. Speaking on the sidelines of the company’s extra ordinary shareholders meeting in Harare recently, where they approved the 81% equity acquisition of Longford Estate Private Limited, Fidelity Life Assurance managing director, Mr Simon Chapereka said the company was targeting Mutare and would have since engaged the City officials on the way forward.
“We have been to Mutare, I was there last month and I spoke to the council officials relating to the possibility of getting a similar (Southview Park housing project in Harare) project in Mutare. “We are having progress.
“In Harare it has been private land, which we have been buying and developing, but public land is a challenge. When we spoke to the people and city of Mutare they said they have run out of land, and the authorities assured that they are making efforts of discussing with government to be able to acquire more land,” said Mr Chapereka.
He said they were working with local authorities across the country in reducing the country’s housing backlog which has ballooned to just below two million units.
Mr Chapereka said among major factors stalling business for developers was the slow land deliveries by local councils, limitations in housing finance, constraints in expanding trunk services such as sewer and water pipes and a general low institutional capacity at all levels of housing development.
Mutare has had a housing backlog rising over the years and is now estimated at around 50 000 units and recently the city authorities have been encouraging private-public partnerships in helping authorities address the housing shortage. Director for Housing in Ministry of Local government, Public Works and National Housing, Mr Lexton Kuwada recently said Government would soon repossess all state land which land developers and housing co-operatives have failed to develop.
Mr Chapereka said the liquidity challenges were impacting negatively on the general performance of the economy and was even more pronounced in assurance sector. “The issues of liquidity are there, but the housing shortage of two million makes a good market for the developers but only if stands were made available and affordable. We are coming to Mutare and as you know Mutare’s tallest building belongs to Fidelity,” he added.
The insurance sector has been affected by low uptake of products, policies have been cancelled or surrendered and late remittances of premiums owing to a decline in formal employment attributed to closure of companies and players are going through an epoch of rigid innovative campaigns to lure informal sector players.
Last month, Fidelity Life Assurance posted a profit after tax of US$ 2, 9 million up from US$ 1,21 million same period in 2014 and are on an expansion drive with the 81% acquisition of Longford Estate Pvt Ltd set to kick start the expansion gear.
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