Concern over illegal settlements

TENDAI BHEBE IN BULAWAYO 

Government says it will decisively deal with land barons, which has fuelled the mushrooming of illegal settlements in major cities.

Daniel Garwe, National Housing and Social Amenities minister, said the mushrooming of illegal settlements was not in tandem with Zimbabwe’s push towards an upper middle income economy.

“We must decisively deal with land barons as we journey towards Vision 2030. We can’t afford on one hand to say we want upper middle-income economy status when on the other, we are seeing mushrooming of irregular settlements. We have to decisively deal with informal settlements,” Garwe said during the tour of Kings City project in Bulawayo last week.

The concern over illegal settlements comes after the government last October sentenced to 12 months in jail three land barons on fraud charges after selling State land reserved for a new primary school in Budiriro, Harare.

The government is targeting to deliver 220 000 housing units by 2025 as prescribed under the National Development Strategy 1 aimed at contributing towards realising Vision 2030.

Garwe also suggested that new housing units at Kings City by Radar Properties should have alternative energy sources.

“The younger generation cannot survive in a world outside the internet so it must be one of the key services to be provided. We also discussed that we must also have alternative energy sources and I’m told that this development has got a solar farm,” Garwe said.

He added: “We also want to include the provision of gas as an alternative way of heating. This is the direction that the President wants the country to go. We need to look at alternative sources of energy and we are happy that alternative sources of energy are part of the project.”

Garwe said the government was partnering with the private sector, as it has no adequate funding and resources.

“We do not have all the resources such as adequate funding but we have affordable land. We are therefore partnering with the private sector whereby we provide land and they service the land and give us the serviced stands for allocation to civil servants,” he said.

Radar Properties is servicing 10 000 stands at Kings City in Umguza, located on the outskirts of Bulawayo, in a bid to address the shortage of accommodation in the city whose waiting list stands at more than 100 000.

Radar Properties CEO, Elias Hwenga: “We are playing our part in the provision of housing and amenities in Zimbabwe. This project King City has 10 000 homes which will accommodate at least 40 000 people. This is very significant in reducing the housing backlog in this country.

“Our key objective is to provide affordable quality accommodation for Zimbabweans. We are part of the housing delivery system. We are aware of the President’s Vision 2030. We are playing our part towards fulfilling that vision.”