Homecoming heaven: Kensington housing project takes shape

A wave of opportunity is rising in Bulawayo with the development of Mzinyathini Gardens, a prestigious housing complex designed for Zimbabweans living abroad.

The ambitious project by diaspora investors aims to provide 260 upmarket homes, offering a comfortable and secure future for those planning to return home.

Construction is already underway, with model homes showcasing three distinct designs approved by a town planner. Future residents can choose their dream homes based on size and style preferences.

One such resident, a Zimbabwean who has spent the last two decades in the UK, exemplifies the project’s appeal. He’s chosen to invest in Mzinyathini Gardens, paving the way for a smooth transition back home after retirement.

Saturday Chronicle caught up with one of the founders of Mzinyathini Gardens, Zazalizitha Khumalo, who explained how the housing project aims to give people working in the diaspora opportunities to enjoy a comfortable and secure life when they finally come back home.

“The first model home currently at roof level is owned by a Zimbabwean based in the UK and the value of the house will be US$100 000. It’s a big house sitting on 1 000 square metres, has three bedrooms with an ensuite bathroom in the master bedroom and a double garage.

“The second and third model homes are slightly different but are all being built using the approved designs for all the 260 homes that will make up Mzinyathini Gardens,” said Khumalo.

The project is the brainchild of Khumalo and his friends, former schoolmates from Mzinyathini High School, who are all based outside the country and have seen and experienced the benefits of living in gated communities in countries such as South Africa, Australia and the United Kingdom, where they had settled and worked for many years. They wanted to replicate that model in Zimbabwe, where gated communities are still rare and mostly reserved for the elite.

Mzinyathini Gardens will be one of the biggest gated community projects in Bulawayo.

A gated community is a type of residential development that has controlled entrances and a closed perimeter of walls and fences, offering privacy and security to its residents.

Sitting on a huge chunk of land in Kensington — a peri-urban farming area on the outskirts of Bulawayo, a team of construction workers was hard at work during the week building the model homes at Mzinyathini Gardens.

Despite significant progress on Mzinyathini Gardens, the project faces a hurdle — obtaining a development permit from Umguza Rural District Council. This permit is crucial for residents to begin construction on their homes.

Khumalo says he has been sent from pillar to post every time he approaches officials from Umguza RDC, despite the fact that the land the project sits on is private land that was bought from an individual.

“The housing complex will be built on 65 acres of land that we bought from Dr Mthupha (Gloria), all the paperwork is above board but officials from Umguza RDC have been giving us a torrid time whenever it’s expected of them to issue us a development project.

“The government is encouraging us to invest back home and now we have a situation where some officials are frustrating 260 people who want to build their dream homes. Ninety percent of the beneficiaries of Mzinyathini Gardens are based in the diaspora and these are people with money to invest back home,” lamented Khumalo.

Under the leadership of President Mnangagwa, the Second Republic is working hard to get rid of bureaucratic bottlenecks and red tape that makes it difficult for Zimbabweans living in the diaspora to invest back at home and support Government efforts to grow the economy.

Umguza RDC chief executive officer Collen Moyo was not available for comment as his cellphone was not reachable.

“We really appreciate Government efforts to make it easy for people working and living outside the country to invest back at home but some of the challenges that, for example, Mzinyathini Gardens is facing are so disheartening. We love Zimbabwe and we would like to retire in style but the level of red tape in offices such as the Umguza Rural District Council is so frustrating,” added Khumalo.

Mzinyathini Gardens will have a bulk of its water supplied from boreholes in the gated community and solar power installed in each home to avoid over reliance from the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) and the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) respectively.

His parting words were a plea to the Government to continue doing its best to ensure that investing back at home is simple and convenient for diasporans.

“Our time is running out in the diaspora and we have no homes to come back to. Home is always best and we want to come back to comfortable homes that will show the hard work we put in while working in countries such as South Africa, Botswana, the United Kingdom, United States and others,” he said.