News / Regional
Gwanda residents, council clash
15 Aug 2016 at 07:57hrs | Views
Gwanda Residents Association is set for a showdown with the local authority over the proposed sell of residential stands under a first come first serve bases.
Last week, the municipality revealed that it was releasing a batch of residential stands at Spitzkop North.
It said prospectives owners should pay a minimum deposit of $2000.
The stands cost $5100.
However, the association through its secretary general Bekezela Maduma Fuzwayo has objected to the new first come first serve bases approach which seek to abandon the traditional use of the housing waiting list.
The association has since written to council raising objections.
Below is the letter seen by Bulawayo24.com dated 12 August :
The Town Clerk
Cc The Mayor
Municipality Of Gwanda
Dear Madam
SALE OF RESIDENTIAL STANDS - SPITZKOP NORTH EXT
We note that there is an advert in The Chronicle of today inviting people to come forward and buy fully serviced stands at Spitzkop North from council at $5100 with a minimum deposit of $2000.
As the Gwanda Residents Association we would like to implore your office to defer the sale of these stands as we are having a problem with the first come with cash first serve basis of providing housing to our community.
As far as we know, council for time immemorial has been using the housing waiting list as its main criteria to offer housing stands to the residents.
Secondly, it has always been council policy and culture to make housing as affordable as possible to it's residents by providing residential stands at the minimal possible cost and payment arrangement.
We would like council to justify to us why and how the 300m2 stands got to cost $5100 each.
Secondly, it is our submission that the stands payment arrangement is not affordable to the ordinary person who is in your housing waiting list in Gwanda.
We view this as yet another move by council to attract land barons to scrounge on our limited lands resource besides all our previous submissions to your office on the difficulties faced by residents on private land sales.
Already too many stands in Gwanda are being sold by private land dealers from outside Gwanda who are symphoning huge amounts of money from our poor community for their personal enrichments.
Our local children who you know very well to be battling to get employment are dying as lodgers in their own mother land while rich barons from outside the town exploit the land using these money first land allocations.
We have since talked to the Deputy Mayor and agreed to have a meeting with council on Tuesday morning at 10 to discuss this and other such issues and so ask that you hold this land sale until we have discussed the issue in the meeting on Tuesday.
Sincerely
Bekezela Maduma Fuzwayo
Secretary General
Gwanda Residents Association.
Last week, the municipality revealed that it was releasing a batch of residential stands at Spitzkop North.
It said prospectives owners should pay a minimum deposit of $2000.
The stands cost $5100.
However, the association through its secretary general Bekezela Maduma Fuzwayo has objected to the new first come first serve bases approach which seek to abandon the traditional use of the housing waiting list.
The association has since written to council raising objections.
Below is the letter seen by Bulawayo24.com dated 12 August :
The Town Clerk
Cc The Mayor
Municipality Of Gwanda
Dear Madam
SALE OF RESIDENTIAL STANDS - SPITZKOP NORTH EXT
We note that there is an advert in The Chronicle of today inviting people to come forward and buy fully serviced stands at Spitzkop North from council at $5100 with a minimum deposit of $2000.
As the Gwanda Residents Association we would like to implore your office to defer the sale of these stands as we are having a problem with the first come with cash first serve basis of providing housing to our community.
As far as we know, council for time immemorial has been using the housing waiting list as its main criteria to offer housing stands to the residents.
Secondly, it has always been council policy and culture to make housing as affordable as possible to it's residents by providing residential stands at the minimal possible cost and payment arrangement.
We would like council to justify to us why and how the 300m2 stands got to cost $5100 each.
Secondly, it is our submission that the stands payment arrangement is not affordable to the ordinary person who is in your housing waiting list in Gwanda.
We view this as yet another move by council to attract land barons to scrounge on our limited lands resource besides all our previous submissions to your office on the difficulties faced by residents on private land sales.
Already too many stands in Gwanda are being sold by private land dealers from outside Gwanda who are symphoning huge amounts of money from our poor community for their personal enrichments.
Our local children who you know very well to be battling to get employment are dying as lodgers in their own mother land while rich barons from outside the town exploit the land using these money first land allocations.
We have since talked to the Deputy Mayor and agreed to have a meeting with council on Tuesday morning at 10 to discuss this and other such issues and so ask that you hold this land sale until we have discussed the issue in the meeting on Tuesday.
Sincerely
Bekezela Maduma Fuzwayo
Secretary General
Gwanda Residents Association.
Source - Byo24News
