Online Reporter
Trust Freddy
Herald Correspondent
THE Government has commended the Urban Development Corporation (UDCORP) for ramping up the delivery of affordable housing after the state enterprise overturned consecutive losses to post a ZiG 72 million profit last year.
The surplus is set to be injected back into ongoing infrastructure development as the State accelerates efforts to meet the national housing target of over one million units by 2030 under the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2).
This development marks a huge financial recovery for the corporation, which previously operated at a loss of approximately ZiG 65 million before undergoing robust institutional revitalisation.
Speaking on the sidelines of the corporation’s annual general meeting held yesterday, Local Government Deputy Minister, Engineer Benjamin Mabikira, expressed satisfaction with the transformation taking place within the parastatal.
“From the general meeting that took place last year, they indicated that it’s an organisation that was operating at a loss…, but currently they have managed to effectively revitalise their organisation to a profit-making organisation,” Eng Mabikira said.
“As a ministry, we are very happy about that and in terms of supporting NDS2, they have managed to deliver more than 600 stands, which is a very positive trajectory that we appreciate.”
Alongside its financial rebound, UDCORP has resolved long-standing structural vulnerabilities by securing a clean audit opinion from the Auditor-General, ending a cycle of adverse audit findings.
UDCORP chief executive officer, Mr Joey Shumbamhene, described the clean audit as a major milestone for the entity’s corporate governance reform.
“All these years we were getting adverse audit opinions—that our governance systems internally, our financial reporting systems, were not in order,” Mr Shumbamhene said.
“So this year we are celebrating a clean audit opinion, which is a big milestone for us, alongside the ZiG 72 million profit.”
Mr Shumbamhene revealed that the corporation’s signature Knockmalloch Housing Project has achieved early compliance, clearing the path for beneficiaries to immediately begin physical construction.
To ensure sustainable urban development, the chief executive noted that UDCORP has invested heavily in green technology, deploying modern biodigester systems to protect the environment while calling on rural and urban councils to partner with the corporation on similar initiatives.
National Housing and Social Amenities Deputy Minister, Musa Ncube, stated that the Government is leveraging on UDCORP’s technical expertise to eliminate historical operational backlogs and drive the national housing master plan.
“On NDS2, we have been given a target of 1,000,000 houses, of which we are also banking on UDCORP to bring in the expertise so that we can achieve the housing targets,” Deputy Minister Ncube said.
To sustain this growth trajectory, Deputy Minister Ncube, revealed that legislative reforms are underway to modernise the parastatal’s statutory framework.
The ministry and UDCORP are currently benchmarking with regional peers, including Botswana, to overhaul the outdated UDCORP Act and replace it with a contemporary legal framework that aligns with modern urban planning and international delivery standards.
