BCC revises land policy to attract major investors

The Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has announced changes to its Land Alienation Policy for Non-Residential Land, aiming to remove barriers that have frustrated potential investors and slowed development in the city. The move follows criticism from developers who argued that the council's previous procedures hindered investment.

An investigation in October revealed that weaknesses in the council's tendering process were being exploited by some developers who hoarded land without undertaking the promised projects. This practice effectively excluded capable developers, forcing them to turn to other local authorities with more investor-friendly policies. Interviews conducted during the investigation indicated that the council's Town Planning Department had often delayed engagement with investors, insisting that they wait for calls for expressions of interest, which had only been issued twice in the past five years. Over the same period, the council advertised just two major tenders: one in 2021, awarded in 2022, and another in December last year that had yet to be awarded.

In response, the council has transferred some powers previously held by the Town Planning Director, Mr Wisdom Siziba, to the City Economic Development Officer (Cedo), Mr Kholisani Moyo. According to the council report, the changes are intended to leverage Cedo's office as the city's first point of contact for investors, drawing on its expertise in identifying and selecting suitable candidates for major development projects.

Under the revised policy, the Director of Town Planning will continue to identify and make available land reserved for major investments, but the alienation process will now be coordinated by Cedo. This includes conducting expressions of interest, prospectuses, or the usual public tender system to comply with Section 152 of the Urban Councils Act. Once land is alienated, the Town Planning Department will manage it in accordance with council resolutions. Minor investments and unsolicited bids will remain under the purview of the Town Planning Department.

The policy covers land earmarked for a range of developments, including hotels, motels, commercial centres, filling stations, medical facilities, townhouses, flat sites, residential stands, and solar farms. Previously, public tenders were managed entirely by the Town Planning Department, with bids reviewed by an interdepartmental committee before recommendations were forwarded to the Sub-committee on Allocation of Stands and Premises for Development.

Property developers have welcomed the changes. Tapiwa Nyazika, a local investor, praised the council for responding to concerns, saying, "We had long insisted that the problem is within the Town Planning Department. We would approach council for land to do major investment projects, but every time, the department would tell us to wait for the tender advertisement, which never came out. What frustrated us even more is that we were now being lured by smaller towns willing to make land available, yet the city that we were born and raised in was shutting us out."

With the revised policy, the Bulawayo City Council aims to streamline land allocation, promote transparency, and attract major investments that can drive economic growth and development in the city.