The Sunday News
Richard Muponde, Gwanda Correspondent
GWANDA town council has availed land for the construction of houses by the National Building Society after the two institutions partnered to ease accommodation challenges in the growing town.
Gwanda’s housing waiting list has ballooned to over 12 000 forcing the local authority to seek partners to develop and service stands.
Besides partnering NBS, the municipality has also partnered with other companies in Spitzkop North, Medium and Doullfontein under its Private Public Partnership (PPP) programme. Gwanda mayor, Councillor Knowledge Ndlovu on Friday said the project going to ease accommodation woes for people in the town.
“I would say we have set vast land for the projects. As of now we have land at Juddy’s Park, Doullfontein and Makwezi Farm which is across the Mtshabezi River. We have enough land for the project for our town to expand. So we are not worried about land as a partner of NBS,” said Clr Ndlovu.
He urged residents of Gwanda to take up the opportunity so that the town does not lag behind in housing development as it aimed at attaining a city’s status.
“Our people should grab this opportunity with both hands. Those who are serious should make sure that we are not left behind as a town. As council we will be there to assist and provide all requirements. NBS said they have the money and as council we will help with the title for land which is one of the requirements. They have a target to achieve and we will help them as our partners to reach those targets,” he said.
The new development comes at a time when the municipality has embarked on an ambitious project to establish a new town with three suburbs at Makwezi Farm across the Mtshabezi River along the Gwanda-Maphisa Road.
Council is scouting for surveyors to do the measurements and mapping of the area. The said the new town would coincide with the tarring and dualisation of the Gwanda-Maphisa Road as promised by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development.
The municipality has also commissioned another suburb named Doullfontein which is already under servicing to ease the problem of accommodation in the town. Gwanda has been dogged by accommodation problems for a long time. In 2007, up to 24 people were sharing a four-roomed house in some of the high density suburbs.
The opening of a nurse training school in the town and increase in students at Joshua Mqabuko Polytechnic College have increased the demand for accommodation.
