The Sunday News
Sandra Tekere, Sunday News Reporter
A CLASH is looming between Umguza Rural District Council and hundreds of families that have been allocated stands at Ntabazinduna Township after it emerged that the families face eviction as they were settled illegally and irregularly by the land developer.
The RDC argues that the land developer went on to sell residential stands outside their agreement leaving the area looking more of a squatter camp as the stands were not pegged according to the council’s development plan.
Umguza RDC further asserts that the houses were built in an area that does not have a functional sewer and water reticulation system, something that council argues poses a serious health threat.
In an interview with Sunday News, Umguza RDC chief executive officer Mr Collen Moyo confirmed that the residents were likely to be evicted to allow for proper planning and development of stands. He said council was not going to accept responsibility on losses incurred by residents urging them to talk to the land developer Nicolas Masuku of N&S Properties.
“Residents went on to buy the stands that were not pegged according to council’s development plan. We had contracted N & S Properties to service the stands and the land developer was supposed to meet conditions stipulated in the permit for the subdivision of land,” said Mr Moyo.
He said part of the conditions which the land developer was supposed to fulfil included water and sewer reticulation system which the contractor failed to meet but went on and sold the stands to residents.
“The land developer allocated many stands to residents in Ntabazinduna and the area now looks more like a squatter camp.
Besides the squalid conditions that people are living in they do not have a proper water and sewer system which is a recipe for a serious health risk,” said Mr Moyo.
He confirmed though that they had an agreement with N & S Properties 12 years back which granted him permission to develop the area in a term of two years. The term lapsed without him fulfilling the conditions as per agreement, but this did not stop him from selling the stands.
He said as far as the RDC was concerned N & S Properties was selling the stands to residents illegally. It has also emerged that N&S Properties sold stands in Nyamandlovu which were not pegged by the RDC to beneficiaries who were not in the council waiting list.
Mr Moyo said: “The council has nothing to do with the money that Masuku received from residents for a job that was illegally and shoddily done. Residents should engage him for their money because as council we cannot allow people to live in unhealthy conditions without water and sewer system. At the end of the day residents blame council yet it knows nothing about the sold stands.”
He urged residents to consult local authorities before purchasing stands saying they will not fold their hands and watch while land developers swindle money from uninformed residents.
Efforts to get a comment from N & S Properties’ Masuku were fruitless as he was said not to be in office. An officer who declined to disclose his name went ballistic about the issue saying it was none of the media’s business.
