SYDNEY SAIZE IN MUTARE
Despite sinking US$10,000 towards emergency works and drainage construction, the Mutare City Council (MMC) is in the hunt for US$15,000 to complete the repair works, Business Times can report.
MCC spokesperson Spren Mutiwi told Business Times the mitigation measures being carried out include drainage opening, removing silt and opening blocked culverts in three suburbs, the Zimbabwe Teachers Association housing scheme, Dreamhouse and Chikanga.
Mutiwi said the private land developers did a shoddy job in the concerned suburbs.
Council has, however, taken over the responsibility to deal with the challenges that emerged after the recent flash floods.
There was no drainage system in those suburbs with some stands located in waterways and wetlands.
“The council has had to hire the relevant equipment to carry out the works at a significant cost.
As council we are now over-stretched to attend to these issues which were supposed to be carried out by the private land developer, who after pocketing the money failed to execute the works and some have since disappeared from the scene,” Mutiwi told Business Times.
He said the council was embarking on an engagement process with the beneficiaries to reach an agreement on the financing model of the outstanding work.
“Council is grappling with legacy issues of uncompleted serviced suburbs. What is most disturbing is that almost all the private land developers with outstanding works, cannot be accounted for with some having disappeared leaving the bulk of basic infrastructure uncompleted,” Mutiwi said.
He added: “It is important for these residents whose suburbs were serviced by private land developers to understand that the responsibility to put sound service infrastructure is purely the prerogative of the land developer.
“The Council would only come in to inspect and approve or disapprove the works and will only take full ownership and responsibility of the suburbs after issuing out the certificate of completion and the subsequent project handover process.”
Mutiwi said it was unfortunate that houses and properties were flooded and most affected people lost valuables, food and clothes.
He said MCC was being blamed for lack of services in the affected suburbs for the work that should have been done private land developer as part of the land sale agreement conditions.
The ZIMTA area was sold to ZIMTA by MCC and the purchasers engaged KMP as a private developer who was involved in servicing the area from 2002.
The development was done in two phases with phase one done to completion and handed over to Council.
The second phase which is the area with storm water challenges was not done to completion.
Roads and drains were not completed. Although the ZIMTA 2 scheme is occupied, it does not have a Certificate of Compliance, and the council in 2020 passed a resolution to take over the project on a funding model to be agreed upon with beneficiaries in 2021.
The floods then hit the area before an engagement meeting was convened and with the lock down measures it became difficult to bring the affected residents to a round table.
Dreamhouse, a housing scheme in Chikanga 3 had the responsibility of servicing stands around 2008, but technically disbanded before sewers, roads and storm water drains were completed.
