adminRichard Muponde Sunday News Correspondent
HWANGE Rural District Council is facing serious financial constraints which have seen the local authority failing to service 1 500 stands at Indlovu Township outside Victoria Falls.
Servicing of stands started last year despite protests from villagers and human rights organisations which view the displacement of villagers to pave way for the suburb as inhumane.
There are also reports that the local authority is also facing problems in relocating the affected villagers, since it has not been allocated land to resettle them.
The council intended to relocate the villagers on land which belongs to the Forestry Commission and its application for land to the commission has not yet been processed.
In an interview, Hwange RDC deputy chairperson Councillor Matthew Muleya confirmed that they have not finished servicing the stands.
“We had progressed well in servicing the site. However, we are facing financial challenges to finish servicing the stands. Our council does not have enough money to finish the job in the timeframe we wanted,” said Clr Muleya.
“We are also waiting for Forestry Commission to grant us land to relocate the villagers. We made an application to the Commission requesting for land but they are still to come back to us. However, that is not the main reason why we are slow in servicing the stands.”
A developer from Gweru is already on site, constructing roads which are at an advanced stage.
The contractor has also drawn water from the Victoria Falls Airport to the site.
Hwange RDC and the developer are mobilising resources to compensate displaced villagers and build them new houses elsewhere. They had targeted to have handed over the new homesteads by January but failed to meet the target.
Clr Muleya said the project was in line with Government’s Zim Asset blueprint, as it is aimed at providing affordable accommodation.
Reports point out that among the 1 500 stands, 300 of them had in 1984 been allocated to villagers as Government then planned to establish a growth-point, but the move was abandoned during the 1980s Matabeleland disturbances.
The project has been marred with setbacks with two co-operatives Gushungo Robert Mugabe Co-operative Society and GR Mugabe Housing Union at one time fighting for a claim on the area, amid allegations of embezzlement of funds.
Last year, former Hwange Senator Grace Dube’s daughter, Ms Siduduzile Zengeni, was slapped with a two-year jail term for duping members of the Mudenda Co-operative in Victoria Falls of more than $8 000.
Ms Zengeni (33) and Mr Vumani Siabolyo (30), both of Chinotimba suburb, were in February last year convicted of fraud by Victoria Falls resident magistrate Sharon Rosemani.
However, the court suspended 12 months of the sentence on condition of good behaviour and another six months were suspended on condition the pair pays restitution to the Mudenda Co-operative.
The remainder was also suspended on condition they completed 105 hours of community service at Mosi Oa Tunya Secondary School.
Charges against them were that sometime between October 2012 and 23 January 2013, Ms Zengeni and Mr Siabolyo collected subscriptions worth $8 745 from the co-operative’s members and issued them with receipts from a stolen book and converted the money to their own use.
derick.khumalo