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Innocent Ruwende Municipal Reporter
HARARE City Council is set to allocate more than 4 000 residential stands and issue 1 400 unserviced residential stands in Tafara to applicants on the city’s housing waiting list as a pay scheme in line with its housing policy.
Councillors also approved the allocation of stands in Kuwadzana, Warren Park, Glen Norah, Kambuzuma and Belvedere.
According to recent minutes of the Education, Health, Housing and Community Services and Licensing Committee, acting housing and community services director Retired Major Mathew Marara proposed the allocation of 1 400 stands in Tafara.
“Council had approved the allocation of the stands to housing cooperatives which were given offer letters with the condition that the stands were going to be serviced under pay schemes in line with City of Harare Housing Policy with assistance of the value addition team.
“The acting director of housing and community services reported that the cooperatives had failed to comply, hence the need to re-advertise and give first preference to members of the cooperatives as individuals and consider other applicants when they failed to meet the city’s conditions,” read the minutes.
Rtd Major Marara said the pay scheme would be administered in terms of a constitution prepared by himself and upon issuance of certificate of compliance, members would sign agreement of sale with council and start individual development of houses using model plans obtainable from council.
Under the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Transformation (ZIM-ASSET) programme, Harare Province is expected to deliver 105 935 houses by 2018.
The city has not serviced land for residential stands for the past 20 years, leaving the door open for the mushrooming of illegal settlements and unscrupulous land barons who stepped in to exploit a growing housing backlog.
It had also collapsed the department of housing to fall under the chamber secretary’s department but it has since resuscitated the department with Rtd Major Marara being appointed acting housing and community services director tasked with spearheading housing development.
In 2014, Government launched the Harare chapter of the National Housing Delivery Programme under ZIM-ASSET that will see Harare Province deliver 105 935 houses by 2018, the Midlands (56 760), Matabeleland North (28 772), Mashonaland West (23 819), Manicaland (21 830), Masvingo (20 269), Mashonaland Central (16 607), Bulawayo (15 100), Matabeleland South (12 500) and 11 776 in Mashonaland East.
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