The Sunday News
Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
THE construction of a massive housing project for civil servants with 5 300 housing units and 110 blocks of flats in three suburbs is gathering momentum with the first 200 units expected to be commissioned by President Mnangagwa at the end of the month.
The project is in Bulawayo’s suburbs of Pumula and Nkulumane as well as Emthunzini which falls under Umguza District of Matabeleland North Province. The project whose first phase is at roof level while laying of sewer and water reticulation system is almost complete at 90 percent will also come up with a dozen schools, seven churches and five shopping centres.
President Mnangagwa
The housing units are being constructed through a Public Private Partnership (PPPs) which has National Building Society (NBS) as the financier while Mahabha and Hawkflight firms are private developers contracted for the project. NBS is a subsidiary of the National Social Security Authority (Nssa) and is wholly owned by the Government.
Speaking to journalists after the tour of the massive housing project on Friday, the Minister of the National Housing and Social Amenities, Cde Daniel Garwe, said the project was testimony of the commitment the Second Republic had in addressing the critical needs of its workforce. He spoke on the scope of the project which he said would have all the social amenities like schools, clinics and churches.
“This is a Public Private Partnership. The public sector includes the National Building Society which is a subsidiary of Nssa, a wholly Government institution. We then have Mahabha and Hawkflight private companies coming in as contractors or developers.
National Social Security Authority (Nssa)
“We are building a total of 5 300 single storey housing units plus a total of 2 300 units that will come out of 110 blocks of flats of four floors each.
“We have got 12 schools composed of six primary and six secondary. There will also be seven churches and five shopping centres that will be built. We will have several clinics and other social amenities,” said Minister Garwe.
He said the development was purely for civil servants and would give priority to those that were part of the Civil Servants for Economic Development (ED) as the project was part of the economic development.
“All civil servants including teachers, nurses, doctors, police officers and other public service employees will get houses here. These are very affordable housing units that speak to the President’s nyika inovakwa nevene vayo/ Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabaninilo philosophy.
National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1)’
“The developers and the beneficiaries are Zimbabweans led by President Mnangagwa. We will also commence the title deeds programme here where President Mnangagwa will commission these housing units by the end of July for the first phase of 200,” said Minister Garwe.
The Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution in Matabeleland North, Cde Richard Moyo expressed gratitude towards President Mnangagwa for availing such a programme saying most civil servants do not have houses.
“Following the coming in of the Second Republic, we began to see such developments. We expect this project to benefit both Bulawayo and Matabeleland North provinces. The programme will be administered by our permanent secretaries in both provinces,” said Minister Moyo.
The Second Republic is scaling up its thrust to providing decent accommodation for its workers and citizens. The target is to provide 1,2 million housing units by 2030 to clear the 1,5 million housing backlog countrywide. Besides the exclusive civil servants housing scheme, the Government is also partnering the private sector to provide housing stands to civil servants through a system where it sells land to property developers at discounted rates and then be given 10 percent of the serviced stands which are then allocated to civil servants.
President Mnangagwa launched the Zimbabwe National Human Settlement Policy in September last year and the Ministry of National Housing is operationalising the policy in partnership with the private sector in line with Vision 2030 as espoused in the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1).
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