derick.khumalo
Gibson Mhaka
[email protected]
MEMBERS of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Local Government and Public Works and National Housing on Saturday begin a fact-finding tour of Bulawayo’s informal and dysfunctional settlements as part of a nationwide oversight exercise aimed at assessing the state of housing delivery and urban regeneration initiatives.
The committee will visit several sites across the city, including Cowdray Park’s Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle housing project, the dysfunctional settlements, Ngozi Mine, the informal settlement, Burombo and Iminyela flats, the urban renewal and regeneration projects, as well as Sidojiwe Flats.
The oversight visit seeks to give legislators a first-hand appreciation of challenges affecting housing development, informal settlements and the implementation of Government housing programmes in Bulawayo.
It also forms part of Parliament’s constitutional mandate to monitor the performance of Government institutions and programmes.
The committee’s findings are expected to inform recommendations aimed at improving housing delivery, regularising informal settlements where appropriate and strengthening urban renewal initiatives.
The Bulawayo tour follows similar inspections in other parts of the country under the committee’s nationwide programme, which is assessing progress on housing projects and the condition of informal and dysfunctional settlements.
Cowdray Park’s Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle project has over the years faced infrastructure and service delivery challenges, while settlements such as Ngozi Mine, Burombo and Iminyela Flats continue to attract attention over issues relating to planning, tenure security and access to basic services.
The committee is expected to engage officials from the City of Bulawayo, Government departments and other stakeholders during the visits before compiling a report for presentation to Parliament containing recommendations on the way forward.
