Govt to repossess land

Funny Hudzeremwa Herald Reporter
Government is set to repossess State land allocated to private land developers and cooperatives that has not been serviced over a long period of time, Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister Saviour Kasukuwere said.

In a speech read on his behalf by the director of national housing and social amenities Mr Lexton Kuwanda at a groundbreaking ceremony for 4 000 stands in Kadoma recently, Minister Kasukuwere said Government would monitor progress in all housing projects in all provinces.

“There are some housing cooperatives that were allocated State land, but have failed to service the land for over a decade now.

“Surprisingly, members were religiously paying subscriptions but on the ground there is no notable development taking place. Government will be left with no option but to repossess the land,” he said.

Half of the 4 000 Kadoma stands will be serviced by council and the remainder will be set aside for banks and other financial institutions.

He said police had started to investigate and arrest land barons who were parcelling out State land, adding that Kadoma alone was expected to create a total of 23 819 housing units and serviced stands.

“I am reliably informed that you are on track to meet the target come 2018. The ministry will deploy internal capacity to service the stands and build the houses and in some instances will subcontract to quicken implementation,” he said.

Kadoma Mayor Councillor Muchineripi Chinyan’anya said the city required at least 11 000 houses to meet the current housing backlog.

“This farm will go a long way in reducing our current housing waiting list which stands at 11 000. We, however, are still in dire need of additional land for our urban expansion. Victory Park has a potential of 8 000 high density residential stands, which means we will still have a deficit of about 3 000 home seekers needing stands,”he said.

Mayor Chinyan’anya appealed for more land in all peri-urban farms from Government and said council would engage local banks and other financial institutions to assist in the construction of houses in Kadoma.