Thousands of Bulawayo council tenants await home ownership

Thousands of families living in Bulawayo City Council-owned houses are still waiting to secure ownership of their homes, with more than 3 400 properties yet to be converted from rentals despite a programme that has been running for years.

The latest council housing report shows that 2 780 houses in Iminyela, Mabuthweni and Emganwini remained outstanding for conversion as at June 2026, while a further 716 houses in Makokoba and Mzilikazi had not been converted. Pumula had one outstanding case.

The figures highlight the slow progress of a programme designed to give long-term municipal tenants security of tenure by allowing them to convert council-owned rental properties into homes they can own.

According to the July report by director of housing and community services Dictor Khumalo, houses in Iminyela, Mabuthweni and Emganwini were targeted for conversion.

The council's figures show that 447 houses had been converted, leaving 2 780 outstanding.

Mabuthweni has the largest number of properties under the programme, with 1 815 houses. However, only 211 had been converted, leaving 1 604 still to be processed.

At Iminyela, 187 of the 1 232 houses had been converted, leaving 1 045 outstanding.

Emganwini's Millennium housing project has 167 units, of which only 49 had been converted, leaving 118.

Overall, only about 14% of the 3 214 houses in the three areas had been converted, according to the council's table, leaving more than 86% still outside the home ownership scheme.

Progress has also stalled in Makokoba and Mzilikazi.

The report states that 1 567 of the 2 283 houses in the two suburbs had been converted, leaving 716 outstanding.

"There were no houses that were converted to homeownership during the period under review," the report says.

It adds that there were no changes in June 2026 to the Makokoba and Mzilikazi conversion programme.

Pumula has recorded similarly limited movement, with four of its five houses converted and one still outstanding.

The latest figures come amid years of pressure from residents for the local authority to transfer ownership of houses they have occupied for extended periods.

Bulawayo City Council has previously described the conversion programme as a means of providing property security to residents who have lived in municipal houses for lengthy periods.

Council records show that in 2023, 420 houses in Iminyela, Mabuthweni and Emganwini had been converted, while the number of converted houses in Makokoba and Mzilikazi stood at 1 567.

By November 2025, the number of conversions in Iminyela, Mabuthweni and Emganwini had increased to 431, while the Makokoba and Mzilikazi figure remained unchanged at 1 567.

The latest report says an administration, management and regularisation exercise is currently being undertaken in Iminyela, Mabuthweni and Emganwini.

According to council, the exercise is encouraging residents to finalise their conversions and settle outstanding amounts owed to the local authority. The initiative has resulted in what the council described as a "marked improvement in revenue to council."

However, the June figures indicate that the majority of targeted properties remain unconverted.

Meanwhile, the report highlights another unresolved housing challenge involving the Hlalani Kuhle/Garikai programme.

At the beginning of the period under review, the council had 24 unresolved cases involving double allocations. No cases were resolved during the period, leaving all 24 outstanding.

Double allocations have been a longstanding problem associated with the city's housing programmes, with previous council reports also recording unresolved cases under the Hlalani Kuhle/Garikai scheme.

The city has previously said it would address the cases as suitable stands became available.