A resident’s perspective of the clusters meeting

I was at the meeting at Town House

Some observations:

• The Mayor and his team basically outlined that Densification is the National (Housing) Policy due to the limitations on expansion outwards from Harare. Land is finite and as population grows the City will need to find ways to accommodate this growth as well as urbanisation. Zimbabwe will be 50 percent urban by 2030. (One wonders how this will affect delimitation during elections!)

Harare already borders municipalities such as Zvimba RDC, Manyame and Goromonzi etc, and some settlements are haphazard and unofficial but politically backed and are already draining Harare amenities (e.g Gazebo, Eastview).

•  Whilst the CBD can grow upwards like other modern cities like Guangzhou, low density suburbs will grow mostly by densification, centered around cluster developments.
•  The Mayor and representatives from ZETDC and ZINWA explained that despite Lake Chivero being at 96 percent capacity and Manyame at 89 percent; only 50 percent of the City’s 800 mega litres daily requirement is being met due to power outages, lack of treatment chemicals, filter clogging and breakdowns at Morton Jaffrey and other treatment plants.

No real explanations were given as to WHY the city is failing to provide these chemicals and repairs etc but if history is a lesson I would say it’s the massive rot in procurement at HCC. Mayor Jacob Mafume lamented that The Harare Power Plant was taken from the control of the council but is derelict.

I believe Government does stifle much of the the council’s purse and powers if the Zinara situation is anything to go by. There is NO assurance that the city will have the amenities to back up this nationalised “densification” plan. The cart has gone before the horse and only God knows if it will ever catch up and he’s not telling.

Mayor Mafume quipped that the City’s future development plans cannot be hedged on borehole water and chided his speech writers for including boreholes.

However this is in stark contrast to the reality on the ground: borehole water IS predominantly all we have in low density surburbs and the scarcity of water as population density increases is a central topical issue for residents.

• For Responses and Queries; The floor was initially dominated by developers, whose concerns were that they are required to pay a 10 percent endowment fee (10 percent of the property value either in cash or part of the development which drew the ire of many). Despite this endowment the council still requires developers to buy transformers, build or repair road infrastructure, upgrade sewer systems and prove consultation with neighbouring property owners.

Developers lamented that council is reneging on its own responsibilities in terms of amenities and infrastructure and passing on the burden to developers of clusters yet the same is not true for the sprawling independent developments in high densities areas and areas on Harare’s borders. They feel the authorities on one hand state that densification via clusters is part of National Housing Policy yet their actions show otherwise. They feel targeted.

Councilors stated that approvals for all new cluster developments have been on hold until the new policy document. Developers complained that why should they be held in limbo when there is already an existing policy framework as it is?

I would be remiss to not add that a prominent black developer pointed out that he has experienced instances where white residents have vehemently opposed his proposed developments on roads where white developers have constructed approved cluster developments just down the road… so perhaps a deeper introspection in to why some of us are truly against dilutions and densification is  required?

• Residents then took the floor; most raised concerns regarding the inadequate infrastructure development and decrease in quality of life from various factors no less the water issue but also the environment, roads, power etc.

Elder Greendale fellow resident Gail Cooper raised concerns over the destruction of trees and the environment and unfortunately she was ridiculed by much of the floor, which I found ridiculous. What sort of environment will our descendants inherit if we completely disregard its protection as population density increases?? It’s unfortunate that there were no presentations from EMA: which reflects how the environment is always an after thought in any affairs in Zimbabwe be it development or commerce. Yet it is the same environment that provides us land, water and sustenance.

Resident Gail Cooper also aptly pointed out how all this development is happening in Greendale, yet there are only two public primary schools and no high schools which will add pressure on those existing amenities, and other utilities.

Personally my query was that: since it seems it’s a forgone conclusion that densification via cluster housing is part of the National Housing Policy: will this mean that suburbs like Greendale will in 20 years or less resemble high density suburbs like Sunningdale not only in terms of population density but also in terms of aesthetics and inadequate amenities and utilities?

Would there be zoning, and limitations on the quantity of cluster homes and population density as had been the original plan to delineate low vs high density suburbs before in Rhodesia and in Zimbabwe.

Would the investment made in the past mindful of Greendale’s nature and space and open spaces be null and void? This is particularly disappointing for pensioners and elderly but also for us the young who have invested in homes here. Would the property market be the only driving force; as new money buys up old properties to repackage as clusters? If that’s the case then young people who came to Greendale for its aesthetic and amenities may as well disinvest and move out of town to Ruwa plots where they may still have a chance to live in low density neighbourhoods with large private living spaces.

I wasn’t really convinced by the response to our queries. Councillor (Denford) Ngadziore reassured Gail that “trees lives matter” and his counterpart told me that only certain areas in Greendale were designated for cluster housing development and that any areas outside that would require “special consideration” which in itself was a “limiting factor”.

I wasn’t convinced. Money talks in Zimbabwe. There’s no special permit that money can’t buy. The complexion of Greendale is inevitably going to change and we have to be resolute to ensure that at the very least: developers and council are held accountable for improving and upgrading infrastructure. Elected officials must be held to account regarding the environment and infrastructure and their performance must effect elections outcomes!

Further insights:

After the meeting I talked with two developers and a lawyer who represents the developers’ association. As an economist I fully understand the underlying forces of demand and supply at play here.

I won’t mention names but a developer basically laid bare that Greendale had been a dying suburb until cluster development mushroomed. The new money is what’s keeping Food Lovers and new commerce in Greendale and Msasa robust, he said. He argued that the vast majority of Greendale property owners are elderly and now financially struggling and that cluster developments have been an avenue for such folks to be able to recoup some value from “dead capital” and get a fresh lease of life from either wholesale sale or from joint venture/ partnerships with developers where they either get an percentage of the total resale value or or get a percentage of total rentals.

It is true that many parents who were executives in the 80s and 90s when they purchased these Greendale properties are now struggling. “Zimbabwe will humble you” he quipped, and even gave some context to his own father who was a big shot bank manager but now can barely afford major service for his car despite owning several home rental properties around town.

He spoke of how many elder folks from his church and social community now seek him out to see how they can recoup some value from their mostly now unused properties. He spoke of how a lot of these durawalls in Greendale and other suburbs now hide the poverty and difficulty that is now a reality for most.

Empty swimming pools that were last used in the 90s, dried up gardens that haven’t had adequate water for 20 years. How folks are surviving on Western Union remittances because they are too proud to incorporate tenants; yet in countries like England it’s common for pensioners to rent out rooms even in the main house (not even cottage) to students and young professionals.

As mentioned here before; Perhaps the big yard, single family house is a relic of the past. But the irony for me was that it seems surburbs like Greendale, Malbereign, Waterfalls and Hatfield are under siege by developers who then recline back to Highlands, and Borrowdale etc, suburbs whose underlying land market value, (for now at least, restrict wholesale gentrification/densification).

Greendale is a target in the property market because

• we have sewer lines,
• the stand sizes are relatively large and
• property is still relatively cheap here in comparison to the Golden Triangle and Borrowdale etc.

The developers stay in Highlands and Borrowdale and enjoy the same tranquility/privacy, and space that we are bemoaning the loss of! Greendale Resident