The Sunday News
Vusumuzi Dube, Senior Municipal Reporter
HWANGE Local Board has condemned the illegal occupation of houses at Empumalanga Phase 4 housing project, saying despite the delays in the installation of water and sewer, it did not give residents the green light to move into the houses.
The local authority had to take over the servicing of a water and sewer reticulation system in the suburb after the original contractor failed to complete construction work in the suburb. The contractor abandoned the site in 2009.
In a statement, HLB town secretary Mr Ndumiso Mdlalose said one of their main goals was to restore confidence between the local authority and residents hence the decision to take over the outstanding works at the suburb.
He revealed that while council is obliged to provide the services and has taken long to do so, it does not condone illegal occupation of houses.
“As it stands council has not offered anyone an occupation certificate for any of the houses, since the area has no services. Those that have started residing in the area are doing so illegally. We are however, pleased to announce that the installation of the water and sewer reticulation systems to 508 residential stands and housing units in the project is progressing well. It is however, worth noting that the delay in installation of these reticulation systems is a legacy issue dating back to 2009, when the local authority’s previous administration engaged a contractor who somehow
failed to service the residential stands in question,” said Mr Mdlalose.
He said last year HLB started the process of installing the water reticulation system using its own financial resources and to date it has connected more than 200 stands. The town secretary said as part of means of further improving services at the project they had applied and received funding through the Public Sector Investment Programme, which it channelled towards the construction of a road network in the un-serviced area.
“HLB anticipates to complete this project in the first-half of the year. Thereafter the installation of the sewer reticulation system is expected to start with council having set a target of completing it before the end of the year.
“Additional funding for the Phase 4 project has also been included in council’s 2021 budget. LB is therefore appealing for patience as it seeks to rectify the anomaly brought about by this legacy issue,” he said.
On another of the town’s projects — Empumalanga West — Mr Mdlalose revealed the project had since been handed over to Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ). HLB has since signed a Deed of Novation to that effect, meaning that the local authority only comes in as the owners of the land.
