Residents to get home ownership

19 May, 2023 - 00:05 0 Views
Residents to get home ownership Councillor Hamutendi Kombayi

Suburban

GWERU City Council (GCC) Mayor Councillor Hamutendi Kombayi has said the local authority will expedite the process of granting home ownership certificates to 198 residents in Mtapa high-density suburb.

The residents live in one-roomed and semi-detached cluster houses which were constructed in 1940 in Mtapa Section 3 and 7.

They can’t extend the houses or construct ablution facilities since the properties still belong to the local authority.

Many people share a single room and ablution facilities.

Shared accommodation is a colonial-era phenomenon where male workers in the city were made to share tiny rooms with an outside communal toilet.

Women were made to stay in the rural areas.

Speaking during the 698th Ordinary full council meeting at the town house last week, Clr Kombayi said Government had given GCC the green light to fast-track the process that will bring joy and happiness to the occupants who had been waiting for over three decades to become homeowners.

“We consulted with the office of the Minister (of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Midlands province) and we were told that it was our duty as a local authority to provide housing for our people hence as a council we need to fast track the Mtapa home ownership scheme so that our people can have proper accommodation. 

“We need to fast-track the issue. It’s now long overdue,” he said.

Clr Kombayi said the Mtapa home ownership programme is part of the city’s new urban renewal programme that is aimed at constructing modern structures in the city.

“We want the home ownership to progress well as part of the new urban renewal programme that will see new or modern structures being constructed for the benefit of residents like those in the Mtapa suburb,” he said.

Clr Kombayi said there is also a need for the local authority to avail more stands to potential home seekers to reduce the housing waiting list.

In support of the home ownership and urban renewal programme, Gweru Residents’ Forum (GRF) has constructed 22 toilets in Mtapa Section 3 for use by residents.

Director of GRF Mr Charles Mazorodze said they were in support of Government and the local authority’s programmes aimed at improving people’s living conditions.

“So far as Gweru Residents’ Forum we have constructed 22 household toilets in Mtapa Section 3 to ensure that we feed into the home ownership and urban renewal programmes,” he said.

Mr Mazorodze said there are about 80 more toilets which will be constructed for residents in due course.

“As the council works on home ownership certificates, we will be working on the toilets because the majority of those residents are facing financial challenges. If given the houses they will need proper ablution and standard toilet facilities which will go a long way in improving their livelihoods,” he said.

In 2018, the Government announced an ambitious programme which will see the rehabilitation and development of some of Zimbabwe’s oldest residential suburbs to world-class status by 2030.

High-density suburbs such as Mbare in Harare, Makokoba in Bulawayo and Mutare’s Sakubva have been earmarked for rehabilitation as part of the project. – Chronicle

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