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Blessings Chidakwa Municipal Reporter
PROGRESSIVE developers of private land for housing who follow the planning rules and properly develop their land will continue to benefit and be backed by Government, National Housing and Social Amenities Minister Daniel Garwe said yesterday.
Speaking after touring Arlington Estates in south-west Harare, Minister Garwe, who was accompanied by his deputy Yeukai Simbanegavi, hailed the property developer for being responsive to Government’s guidelines and rules.
The estate developer was following the law and responding to the national policy that no houses or flats can be built before onsite service is provided and that certificates of compliance will be issued then title deeds processed. The services include roads, water and sewerage.
“We are quite happy the developer is working with the Government for its private-public partnership. Government’s key role is to create an environment suitable for making housing delivery make sense and that is what is here.
“The developer has already processed about 600 deeds because he has provided roads, water and sewer services. That kills the animals called land barons and informal settlements,” he said.
Minister Garwe also said the property speaks clearly to the dictates of the human settlement policy of densification.
“That 40 percent of developable land must be set aside for densification. Here we have two storey buildings. These are all flats that are a response to what we are asking for.
“Land is a finite resource. You cannot continue developing expansively. You end up using the land set aside for agriculture for housing and then become a net importer of food,” he said.
Minister Garwe said the designs responded to the issues of climate change.
“The type of roofs is modern, sustainable and affordable. We have about 1 300 units here and when I say we are going to surpass our target of 220 000 housing units by 2025 it is not just a talk show, it is reality,” he said.
“Imagine this development is in terms of using brick and mortar technology. But we have now adopted the use of new technologies.
“Next month we will see the first block of flats using new technology which enables us to deliver at least a 1 000 units per month.”
Minister Garwe said Arlington was a gated community which speaks to the Government’s expectations in terms of smart cities.
“Gated communities where people can live, work and play. We have got light industrial accommodation, factory units and warehouses being constructed, commercial centres set aside for shopping malls and areas for social amenities as well schools, clinics and playgrounds,” he said.
Arlington’s executive chairman Jeremy Brooke said the estate is a mixed use development and his development company wants to try and offer a product for each different requirement.
“This is a private development but we work very closely with the Government to try and deliver on their ambitions. Whatever role we are going to play we will do so.
“We, Government and customers all have ambitions. It is our intention to try and help them in whichever way we can deliver housing solutions for all,” he said.
Mr Brooke said there are stand-alone houses with some built to tremendous levels. “We have got the smaller clusters where you build a smaller home. We keep clipping down to get to a level where we present an apartment like the two bedroom apartments.
“We also sell small stands on which people can build their homes. We try to create a blend of all different demographic types into one area, ” he said.
His firm had been doing that for the past 20 years and would continue to do it for more years to come. They are working on a new project in Ruwa which is 80 percent complete.
“We cannot be playing with land barons where people are paying huge sums of money each month and not getting a title deed,” Mr Brooke said.
Social amenities are a must during development of stands.
“When doing mixed use development, you need to be aware of all the developments. There has to be schools, universities, sports fields, and commercial centres so it is all in our interest to design properly.
“Consequently we are very aware that Midlands State University requires a campus and we are prepared to donate a piece of land that we have got to fulfil their needs in Mashonaland East,” Mr Brooke said.
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