More houses for civil servants in Matebeleland North

GOVERNMENT has pledged to build more houses for civil servants in Matebeleland North capital, Lupane while civil works for the 19 housing units earmarked for civil servants have started at the Lupane Hlalani Kuhle housing project, which had stalled for years.  A local company, Saltaway Enterprises, was contracted by the Ministry of National Housing and Social Amenities to do the civil works as the Second Republic works towards improving the welfare of its workers.

The civil works include connecting water and sewer pipes and constructing access roads. Once the servicing is complete, Matabeleland North senior civil servants, most of whom are resident in Bulawayo, are expected to relocate to the provincial capital and occupy the houses.

As part of implementing the dictates of the Zimbabwe National Human Settlements Policy (ZNHSP), Government, the Ministry of National Housing and Social Amenities and the Lupane Local Board, have engaged the contractor to provide water, sewer and road network to ensure that the settlement is fully functional.

Cabinet adopted the ZNHSP in November 2020 and it was subsequently launched by President Mnangagwa last year in September. The policy is in line with Vision 2030 and also dovetails with other regional and international development policies. It integrates implications of climate change with aspects of rural and urban settlement planning, development and management.

In an interview Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs and Devolution Affairs Minister, Richard Moyo, said: "So far, 19 houses have been completed, but they will be increased so that when senior civil servants in Matabeleland North relocate to Lupane, they don't face accommodation challenges".

He said the trajectory towards attainment of Vision 2030 revolves around providing human settlements, which meet the aspirations of citizens while also addressing aspects of affordability and modernisation. "There is a lot happening on the ground, which reflects on the Second Republic's commitment to build the nation in line with the philosophy ‘nyika inovakwa nevene vayo/ilizwe lakhiwa ngabaninilo," Minister Moyo said.

He said the Second Republic is a people-oriented Government, which endeavours to provide adequate housing and basic social services for low-income earners hence ensuring sustainable socio-economic development. Minister Moyo commended the Government for engaging local contractors in building and developing the nation in line with Vision 2030.

Director of Saltaway Enterprises, Mr Sidmore Matikiti, said the scope of the work involves constructing a 4km road network and 3km sewer pipeline. "We have since established a site camp and mobilised the required equipment, which include pipes for sewer and water reticulation. So far, we are doing roads and also constructing a community septic tank for the houses since there is no treatment plant in Lupane," he said.

Briefing the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Local Government, Public Works and National Housing during its recent visit to Lupane, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Housing and Social Amenities Engineer Joy Makumbe, said Government is funding the construction of the roads, water and sewer reticulation. "The houses are situated at a site where there were no roads, water and sewer. However, in line with the Zimbabwe Human Settlement policy launched by President Mnangagwa, we are saying people should stay in settlements that are fully functional," she said.

"It is also part of our mandate as Ministry of National Housing and Social Amenities to make sure that we regularise and sanitise these settlements that were there before. We awarded the contract to a company called Saltaway Enterprises and the Government is funding the construction of the roads,  water and sewer reticulation infrastructure together with Lupane Local Board."

Recently, National Housing and Social Amenities Minister Daniel Garwe said the Government was seized with regularising Lupane housing development, which started in 2014 but was marred by parallel developments, which exposed lack of discipline on behalf of contractors. Housing delivery is one of the 14 national priorities under the National Development Strategy (NDS1), and the key result for the housing thematic area is the delivery of decent, affordable and quality settlements in urban and rural areas.

The country's national housing backlog stands at about 1,2 million and housing delivery is one of the key NDS1 pillars. The housing delivery pillar within the NDS1 is expected to deliver 220 000 housing units by 2025 and over 470 000 homes by 2030 through collective efforts from stakeholders and all parties involved in human settlements delivery to reduce the estimated 1,5 million housing backlog.

To reduce the national backlog, the Government, private sector and individuals are working together to roll out construction projects, which also entails provision of onsite developments such as roads, water and sewer reticulation services at existing projects.