The Sunday News
THE provision of housing has been one of the most critical issues of our Government’s social policy since the attainment of independence in 1980. The Government has come up with different schemes and policies in addressing the shortage of accommodation especially in urban areas as it moved to empower its people.Domestic shelter is an important basic need in any society and according to the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements of 2000, housing is an essential component of the foundation needed by every individual to participate fully in society. In Zimbabwe’s most urban areas if not all there has been a critical shortage of housing and the backlog continues to increase with the most affected being low-income earners. Bulawayo, the country’s second largest city for example is sitting on a housing waiting list of around 100 000. Such a situation has seen the local authorities and the Government being confronted with the unenviable task of trying to keep pace with the demands for secure housing.
It is against such a background that the Government on Thursday last week launched the Harare chapter of the National Housing Delivery Programme under Zim Asset that will see more than 105 000 housing units built in the capital city by 2018. The programme will also be launched in other provinces in the coming weeks. Under Zim Asset, Harare province is expected to deliver 105 935 houses by 2018, the Midlands (56 760), Matabeleland North (28 772), Mashonaland West (23 819), Manicaland (21 830), Masvingo (20 269), Mashonaland Central (16 607), Bulawayo (15 100), Matabeleland South (12 500) and 11 776 in Mashonaland East.
Speaking during the launch of the programme, the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, Dr Ignatius Chombo, said the programme was expected to yield 313 368 housing units across the country in the next 38 months. The minister said the 2012 revised National Housing Policy provided for the Government to play a facilitatory role by creating a conducive environment for the participation of various players in housing delivery.
“It is instructive to note that Zim Asset requires the Social Services and Poverty Eradication Cluster to collectively deliver 125 000 housing units and or serviced stands in the next four years, against an estimated housing backlog of 1,25 million,” said Dr Chombo.
“This massive housing backlog is a function of the debilitating illegal sanctions visited upon the polity by the West as punishment for our glorious land and agrarian reforms. This explains the low levels of investments in housing by Central Government, local authorities and other players in the housing sector in the past decade or so.”
We take this opportunity to welcome such a wonderful scheme as we believe it will go a long way in reducing the shortage of accommodation in the country. It looks like the scheme was carefully crafted as it is an all inclusive one and as Dr Chombo said would be for first-time homeseekers with women, war veterans, civil servants, State security organisations, and the youths getting 10 percent each of the houses. The other 50 percent is for general first-time home seekers.
We, therefore, urge the Government to move with speed in carrying out this programme, which we believe would be affordable to low-income earners as a number of people are living in difficult conditions including professionals because the prices of houses are beyond their reach. Currently the average price of a house in the high-density suburbs of Bulawayo and Harare is $8 000 for a two-roomed while a two-bedroomed goes for around $20 000. A good house in the low-density costs around $45 000. With such conditions, a number of people in desperation have been driven to live in makeshift houses in the process courting the ire of the authorities. This new scheme is expected, therefore, to also reduce the proliferation of backyard shanties and high occupancy rates where 10 people in some instances are found sharing a room because of the shortage and high cost of accommodation.
The move by the Government will also go a long way in empowering the people as we believe that the provision of housing is a tool of development, which brings with it dignity to the citizens.
However, we also take this opportunity to urge building societies, contractors and local authorities and other stakeholders that the provision of housing should not be left to the Government alone as they also have a role in the development of the housing sector in the country. The Government should also come up with incentives for the banking sector such as exemption from taxation for those involved in the development of housing. There is also a need to capacitate the local authorities so that they deliver houses to their residents.
