Time to decongest Harare

delivery system that has flourished with little hindrance over the past 20 years.
After the unregulated 30 percent increase on rentals in Harare three weeks ago, Government, the Harare City Council and other private partners must attack the root cause, the sharp supply deficiencies in Harare’s housing sector and lack of adequate industrial development in other smaller towns.
Unless there is deep-pocketed investment in housing and development of several other employment creating “Harares” to decongest the Harare we know, then the challenge of uncontrolled increases on rented accommodation in the capital will be here for the long haul.
Industrial development must be allowed to expand outside Harare and pursued vigorously in smaller cities like Kwekwe, Gweru, Masvingo, Chinhoyi and Mutare, etc.
This will bring development, job opportunities and investment to the smaller towns as well as the residents.
Subsequently, pressure will be released on Harare, which has absorbed most of Zimbabwe’s job seekers as it is viewed by many as the ultimate destination, the measure of success and the good life, a perception that is dangerously flawed.
Property analyst Mr Moses Mazibiye of Fairvest Real Estate in Harare said the pricing and rentals situation will only be moderated if the supply side improves vastly.
There are many ways to do this, he said, but a starting point could be the promulgation and implementation of a clear policy on housing delivery that will guide all stakeholders including Government, financial institutions, non-governmental organisations, private developers, the construction industry and other interested groups.
“As for Harare, it appears that economic hardships and failure by other cities to attract investment and employment creation projects has pushed people, especially new entrants into the job market, to believe that they can find job opportunities in Harare thus creating a lot of pressure on existing facilities,” Mr Mazibiye said.
Harare’s infrastructure, housing and other public services are always under immense pressure because of rapid rural to urban migration.
Everyone wants to come to work, live and fulfil their childhood desires in Harare.
The school leaver in Tandi village, Rusape, wants to see and feel the lights of Harare.
It’s all he ever dreams about, coming to Harare, for he was raised on a constant and reliable Harare diet, Harare’s First Street, Harare this, Harare that, Harare the Sunshine City.
But the sun shines no more in Harare. The capital city is haunted by ghosts of the old, a home for shattered dreams and fractured hope, unable to feed nor house its own.
The city’s streets are littered with homeless destitutes, uncollected garbage, free flowing sewer and more.
People have stopped caring. It is pointless to care. Harare has struggled to keep up with the high rate of urbanisation due to lack of adequate investment in key public infrastructure such as housing, water, roads and sewer.
Most of the rural to urban migration in Zimbabwe is, in fact, a journey for settling permanently in Harare, and a few others in Bulawayo.
Estimates put Harare’s current population at almost 3,5 million people, more than a quarter of current national population, and compares to Zimbabwe’s entire population of under three million four decades ago.
The result has been that of a crowded city with intense competition for limited resources.
On housing alone, almost one million eligible home-seekers are on Harare’s waiting list.
By comparison, complete properties, rental accommodation, undeveloped residential land even, are still by far cheaper and affordable in smaller towns like Kwekwe or Chegutu.
It costs between US$60 000 and US$100 000 to purchase a piece of land measuring 15 acres in Chegutu.
In Harare, two acres of land could fetch US$75 000, in the low-density areas. The price difference on the two properties is a function of the interacting dynamics between supply and demand.
Of course, Harare’s demand patterns are unsustainably high for reasons already mentioned.
Urban planning expert Mr Percy Toriro said the rental hikes were a direct result of a general housing shortage problem in Zimbabwe and Harare in particular, as well as the absence of mortgage financing for residential property construction.
He said the challenge, which has led to a property owner’s market that allows for profiteering, required vast continuous investments in the property sector through public-private sector partnerships.
Mr Toriro estimated that 20 000 public stands were serviced by councils and private developers in the nineties with developments in Kuwadzana, Msasa Park, Zimre Park, Westlea, Budiriro, etc, but the trend has reversed sharply during the previous decade.
Development of residential estates by the private sector in this period has been few and far between, mainly driven by profit, and so tend to push up prices of both rentals and cost of completed houses.
“The solution is large-scale investment in housing whereby stands and housing units are made available in thousands and not the current single- or double-digit annual deliveries,” Mr Toriro advised.
“This requires the participation of a number of stakeholders. Councils should prioritise low- and middle-income mass housing. The private sector can then focus on high- income earners who can afford to pay for properties at a premium price . . . . other holders of public funds such as pension should also come onto the market and provide mass housing.”
The recent partnership between the City of Harare and CABS, a building society, for the construction of low-cost housing in the capital was a good example of public-private partnerships needed to drive the home sector in the country, and limit pricing challenges.
It is important also that public housing programmes such as the Willowvale flats unveiled by Government recently be expanded to cover all other provinces countrywide.
Mr Mazibiye said: “Central Government should also incentivise delivery of houses by offering tax breaks for players in the sector and attract more investment.
“The current state of the housing sector in Harare and Zimbabwe remains a serious challenge that requires all stakeholders to come together. The challenges are enormous but surmountable,” Mr Mazibiye said.