Council divided over ownership of flats

CRACKS have emerged within council over the transfer of ownership of flats in the Iminyela and Mabuthweni suburbs to sitting tenants who have been occupying the properties for more than 30 years.

Opinion is split right through the middle among city fathers over this emotive matter.

A section of the councillors is citing lack of resources for stalling the implementation of a council resolution compelling the municipality to transfer ownership to the sitting tenants, while another group blames the absence of political will.

In 2002, council resolved to sell the 3 000-plus houses in the two suburbs to sitting tenants and committed to transfer ownership to the occupants but to date, the tenants are yet to get the properties' ownership transferred into their names, despite numerous promises.

Most of the tenants, who have been living in squalor, have been occupying the properties for more than three decades.

Ward 13 councillor Lot Siziba told the Southern News that council was playing delaying tactics on the implementation of the resolution.

"I don't believe that there is no money because in 2010, the United Nations released money for the project but instead the money was diverted to Esidojiwe for the construction of Millennium houses and that pains me because this problem has gone for long enough," fumed Siziba.

"In 2010, we went to see the equipment at the council stores, which was meant for the project but was diverted, so they should not tell us about resource scarcity."

The Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC, which dominates council, has waded into the matter, with the party's provincial spokesperson, Felix Mafa, accusing the local authority of "dillydallying" on the matter.

"Remember early this year, we summoned the mayor Martin Moyo and his councillors to our party offices over the issue . . . we quizzed them over why they were failing to implement a resolution passed by the previous council on the Iminyela and Mabuthweni suburbs," he told Southern News.

"Instead of implementing the resolution, they are now trying to reinvent their own resolution and, as a party, we won't allow that to happen," Mafa said.

Moyo said resources were the biggest challenge faced in implementing the resolution.

"We allowed those people to go into home ownership provided the facilities are there," he said.

"There are a lot of things that need to be done before the ownership is transferred because we can't transfer ownership when there is no sewer system, water, toilets and roads," he said, adding that a survey has already been conducted on the properties to ascertain the requirements and feasibility of the transfer process.

"The transfer could have been faster had it been possible that each of them (tenants) had the money to pay for such renovations as plumbing and toilet construction, among other necessities, but unfortunately, most of these people, from our survey, cannot afford these so we are trying to get that money."

The mayor went on to slam Mafa, accusing him of politicking.

"We are not dillydallying. We are actually doing what we can. The challenge is the cost of implementing (the resolution), like I said before. The problem is people want to politic about some of these things, which is not good," he said.