Mnangagwa commissions 28 Beitbridge houses

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa Wednesday commissioned 28 houses for civil servants that took the government 15 years to construct under the Beitbridge Redevelopment Programme.

The housing project started in 2006 when Mnangagwa was then the Rural Housing Minister under Robert Mugabe's administration.

The houses are 56  in total consisting of three-bedroom apartments.

However, 28 were recently completed and construction on the other 24 is yet to be finished.

Speaking at the launch in Beitbridge town, Mnangagwa said he was "proud" to have finished the project 15 years later and promised to construct more houses for civil servants.

"All our border towns have accommodation challenges. So, the government is seized with the project of constructing housing units in all these border towns so that civil servants and all agencies will have adequate and decent accommodation," he said.

"I am happy that I began this project in 2006, and due to my resilience, I am completing it in 2021. The project stalled in 2008 but was restarted in 2019 under the second republic. So far, 52 units have been completed, and more are on the way."

He added: "Guided by the zeal on our national vision of attaining a prosperous and empowered upper-middle-income society status by 2030, my government is committed to ensure that every citizen has access to sustainable, modern, liveable, and affordable shelter."

The government is promising to construct 220 000 houses before 2025. On Tuesday, Cabinet also committed to the construction of 3 000 public primary and secondary schools, some with boarding facilities, by 2025.