Gweru residents push for home ownership

GWERU residents living in Mtapa high-density suburb recently confronted council demanding transfer of ownership of the houses which they occupied during the colonial era.
Mtapa sections 3 and 7 have oneroomed semi-detached clusters built over 40 years ago.

Gweru United Progressive Residents' and Ratepayers Association (GUPRADA) president David Chikore confirmed that residents recently met with senior council officials to map the way forward.

"As GUPRADA, we initiated the process for residents to meet with council to conclude the long issue of Mtapa home ownership," Chikore said.

"We actually met with the mayor who assured us that council would put its house in order to speedily address home ownership for residents who live in Mtapa house blocks."

Chikore said the local authority was going to offer the remaining occupants stands at the new housing scheme in Mkoba.

Mayor Josiah Makombe confirmed meeting with the residents and said an "amicable" solution would be reached soon.

He said the delay in changing ownership was mainly caused by lack of coherence in council departments.

"Our housing department had already designed a programme for ownership of the homes," Makombe said.

"But that programme was not in cohesion with plans from the engineering department. So we have since instructed that engineering comes up with a master plan that fits what housing had already come up with."

Added Makombe: "We want to make sure that by February next year, the issue of ownership would have been concluded."

He said to address the issue of overcrowding at the house blocks, residents had agreed that the elderly occupants would remain at the houses to claim proprietorship while the remaining occupants would be offered residential stands at subsidised prices in the new Mkoba 21 suburb.