Online Reporter
Freedom Mupanedemo
Midlands Bureau
GWERU City Council has toned down its initial threat to sell 204 council houses on the open market, saying sitting tenants will be given priority to buy their homes.
The local authority said it would only open the sale to the public, if legal occupants fail to take up the offer.
The move follows weeks of resistance from residents who feared being displaced by outside buyers.
The properties, located in the high-density suburbs of Mkoba, Senga and Mtapa, are part of a long-standing Government home ownership scheme that began in the early 1990s.
According to the director of Housing and Community Services, Mr Joseph Zimusi, 204 houses remain under the scheme and are still occupied by tenants who have not finalised purchase.
“We are offering sitting tenants and when they fail to take up the offer, then we open it to the public. The exercise has been ongoing since then.”
Mr Zimusi said the local authority is not yet selling, but intends to sell the houses on the open market because the legal sitting tenants are not taking up the offers as per the Government scheme.
He said the delays were hampering its urban renewal programme and revenue collection.
The programme was going to benefit the tenants who would now possess title deeds.
“As a local authority, we want to increase our revenue collection and at the same time, the tenants will be empowered since they will now have title deeds,” he said.
Gweru Residents Forum executive director Mr Charles Mazorodze said officials have been raising concerns over irregularities, including subletting by some legal tenants and occupation by people who were never formally allocated the houses.
“The issue of these council houses is a bone of contention to many residents. Some are saying the council wants to chuck them out of their houses, while others are saying they had paid for the home ownership. So it’s a tricky situation and we want the affected to take their matter to the local authority,” he said.
Mr Mazorodze said some tenants expressed fears that the houses were being lined up for wealthy individuals and council officials.
Acting chairperson of Gweru Residents Trust, Mr Obvious Gonamombe, said there should be a win-win solution between the local authority and the affected residents.
He said the council must also understand that some of the sitting tenants are pensioners without immediate cash.
