Homelink stands mired in confusion

THERE is confusion over development of stands owned by Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe subsidiary, Homelink, in Parklands, Bulawayo after it emerged that some residents have occupied and erected structures in the area despite the local authority's directive not to have the stands sold before being serviced.

According to a council resolution of 7 December 2005, Homelink in a joint venture with the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing was allocated 137 residential stands in Parklands with the mandate to fully service the stands with water, sewer and roads in line with specifications of the City of Bulawayo before allocating the stands to beneficiaries.

Homelink chief executive officer Mrs Stellamaris Chorwira said they were not aware of any sale of stands as they had not yet satisfied the local authority's requirements.

"As Homelink we never sold any stands, we have our stands and title deeds and never received a dollar from a client as Homelink. This project was a joint venture between us and the Ministry of Local Government and we are still trying to get to the bottom of this," said Mrs Chorwira.

However, a visit to the area by this paper revealed that a significant portion of the stands were sold off with some residents having constructed temporary shelters while waiting for Bulawayo City Council to approve their building plans.

One resident, who spoke to this paper, said she had been staying at her stand for about 10 months despite the area not having any sewer or water connections. The resident who spoke on condition of anonymity said she bought the 1 048 square metre stand from National Housing Ministry for about $16 000 after paying an initial deposit of $6 300.

"I realised I could not continue paying rent at my lodgings hence my decision to build a temporary structure at my Parklands stand. As you can see we have a Blair toilet and water storage containers to store borehole water that we buy.

I took my plan to city council seven months ago but was told two weeks ago that there are areas that need to be fixed," she said.

A number of residents have put together building material that includes bricks, pit and river sand in preparation for construction of permanent structures.

However, Bulawayo City Council spokesperson Mrs Nesisa Mpofu said the Parklands stands were to be allocated to beneficiaries on the council waiting list after completion of servicing but the developer, Homelink, had not yet completed servicing and had moved off the site.

"Council has been receiving inquiries from people who say that they are beneficiaries of the scheme pointing out that they would like to start construction. Those inquiring have been informed that housing construction cannot start at the moment since servicing is still incomplete," she said.

Mrs Mpofu said council held meetings with the developer who indicated that servicing would resume once additional funding was provided by the parent ministry.

Speaking on the criteria used to allocate stands to private land developers, Mrs Mpofu said prospective developers respond to a tender advertised in local newspapers and a negotiation process where prospective developers make an application to the local authority for land follows after which they submit a project proposal.

Meanwhile, BCC has revealed that at least 36 buildings had so far been condemned as dilapidated and unsightly in the city and the process of identifying such buildings was on-going.

"If a building or a building under construction is found to be in contravention of the Model Building By-Laws of 1977, Chapter 2, Sections 5, 48, 49 and relevant Statutory Instruments, it is bound to be condemned.

The quoted sections in brief refer to plan submission, dangerous building and unsightly buildings and defective sewerage systems," said Mrs Mpofu.