Online Reporter
Mukudzei Chingwere
Senior Reporter
The Government is moving to retire Zimbabwe’s nearly five-decade-old Model Building by-laws and replace them with a unified National Building Code as authorities seek to modernise construction standards, strengthen building safety and speed up development approvals.
National Housing and Social Amenities Minister Professor Paul Mavima said the existing framework, dating back to 1977, no longer adequately responds to contemporary construction realities and the technologies increasingly being deployed in the built environment.
The planned National Building Code is expected to provide modern standards covering safety, resilience and sustainable construction while creating a more efficient regulatory environment for developers.
Prof Mavima revealed the reforms while addressing the Construction Industry Federation of Zimbabwe (CIFOZ) Annual General Meeting and Congress in Bulawayo on Thursday.
“Government is also pursuing regulatory reform. We are moving from the outdated Model Building by-laws of 1977 towards a modern, unified National Building Code that responds to contemporary construction realities,” he said.
“The objective is clear: modernised standards, improved safety, resilience, sustainable construction and more efficient development approvals.”
The reforms come as Zimbabwe prepares for an accelerated construction programme under the National Development Strategy 2, with Government targeting the delivery of at least one million housing units by 2030.
Prof Mavima said meeting that target would require much more than increasing the number of houses under construction, arguing that Zimbabwe must simultaneously modernise the systems governing how infrastructure is planned, approved and built. Government envisages human settlements supported by roads, water, sanitation and social amenities instead of isolated housing structures.
“We cannot build the Zimbabwe of 2030 through shortcuts,” Prof Mavima said.
“A defective building can threaten human life. A poorly constructed road becomes an economic cost. A housing development without adequate roads, water, sanitation and social amenities is not a complete human settlement.”
He said Zimbabwe needed to move away from “a culture of construction at any cost to a culture of quality construction with lasting value.”
The minister’s remarks put construction standards at the centre of the country’s development programme at a time when rapid urbanisation and increased public and private infrastructure investment are placing greater demands on the built environment.
Prof Mavima said the sector should also embrace technologies capable of reducing construction costs and shortening project delivery periods, including modern construction technologies, alternative building methods, modular construction, digital design and green technologies.
Young Zimbabweans, he said, should be deliberately trained in these emerging technologies through apprenticeships and exposure to modern building practices.
“A country that builds infrastructure without building human capability has completed only half the task,” he said.
Prof Mavima also put contractors and built-environment professionals on notice over poor workmanship, corruption and unethical practices, saying the country’s infrastructure ambitions could not be achieved through shortcuts or by compromising professional standards.
“Ethics is not an ornament to professionalism; it is the foundation of professionalism,” he said.
“Every tender awarded, certificate issued, material specified and project supervised carries responsibility.
“We must reject corruption, collusion, inflated costs, conflicts of interest, fraudulent certification and substandard materials.”
The construction industry, he added, should continuously ask itself not only whether it was capable of delivering projects, but whether those projects were being constructed “properly, honestly and for the public good.”
Prof Mavima said the drive for improved standards was particularly important as Government moves to substantially expand housing delivery. Under NDS2, Zimbabwe is targeting at least one million housing units by 2030, an ambition he said could not be delivered by the State acting alone.
The programme will require collaboration between Government, private companies, local authorities, financial institutions, developers, professionals, manufacturers and communities.
Government’s role, he said, was to improve the enabling environment, facilitate investment, improve regulatory efficiency and develop suitable partnership frameworks.
