Mkhululi Ncube [email protected]
GOVERNMENT is pushing for the adoption of modern construction technologies, innovative building materials and denser settlements to reduce housing costs and accelerate delivery as it pursues its target of providing one million housing units by 2030.
The reforms are also expected to improve efficiency in the construction sector, promote sustainable human settlements and create a regulatory environment that encourages investment while safeguarding building standards.
National Housing and Social Amenities Minister Professor Paul Mavima said this in a speech read on his behalf by Deputy Minister Musa Ncube during the official opening of the ministry’s 2027 strategic plan review workshop in Bulawayo on Wednesday.
He said the construction industry needed to embrace modern, efficient and sustainable building methods to address the country’s housing backlog and accelerate delivery.
“The time has come to actively transform our construction landscape through modern, efficient, and sustainable technologies. As we review our progress, we must evaluate how effectively we are adopting innovative building materials and methods that reduce costs, promote environmental stewardship and enhance knowledge transfer within our construction sector,” said Prof Mavima.
He said Government was also seeking stronger collaboration with stakeholders in the built environment, including research institutions and think tanks, to harness innovation and expertise in housing development.
The drive towards innovation is being complemented by plans to increase land utilisation through densification, which allows more housing units to be developed within existing urban areas without excessively expanding settlements onto new land.
Government is targeting 40 percent densification in line with the Zimbabwe National Human Settlements Policy, an approach expected to promote efficient infrastructure provision and sustainable urban growth.
“As we continue to tackle the ever-growing housing backlog, we must adopt strategies that maximise land utilisation. Densification should become central to our planning, allowing us to provide more housing units without excessively consuming prime land,” said Prof Mavima.
He said achieving the target of one million housing units under the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2) required collective efforts from Government, the private sector and the public.
The ministry is also working to replace the country’s outdated 1977 building by-laws with a Unified National Building Code, which is expected to modernise construction regulations and establish a framework for safer, more sustainable and investment-friendly developments.
Prof Mavima said the revised code should encourage green building practices while maintaining safety, quality and professional standards.
He urged stakeholders to ensure that the process was completed within the set timelines, emphasising that the new framework should be flexible enough to accommodate innovation without compromising construction standards.
On housing delivery, the minister said the ministry had recorded progress during 2026, including the completion of 105 housing units in Beitbridge, Tynwald in Harare and Dombotombo in Marondera.
Government also facilitated the purchase of 29 houses for senior civil servants, while 54 Government-owned houses were rehabilitated during the year.
Under the Kwangu/Ngakwami Presidential Title Deeds Programme in Cowdray Park, Bulawayo, 8 000 securitised offer letters had been issued against a target of 13 000 beneficiaries.
The ministry had also targeted facilitating the transfer of title deeds for 1 500 properties in 2026, with 1 389 properties now ready for transfer.
Prof Mavima said effective coordination among Government departments and private-sector stakeholders was essential to accelerate the processing and issuance of title deeds.
Speaking at the same event, Minister of State for Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Judith Ncube, who was represented by her office’s director of economic affairs, Mr Samuel Saunyama, called for urgent funding to address accommodation challenges facing civil servants in the city.
She said Government-owned housing available to civil servants was inadequate, particularly given Bulawayo’s role in accommodating public servants serving the two Matabeleland provinces.
“We appeal for your prioritisation of funding for Iminyela and Cowdray Park Flats so that construction can take off so that civil servants will have accommodation. The Government housing stock for civil servants is very little and inadequate considering that Bulawayo houses Matabeleland South and Matabeleland North provinces,” she said.
