Demolitions: Zimbabwe First Lady Spot On
October 10, 2014
Zimbabwe Herald
The First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe hit the nail on the head when she spoke against the manner in which demolitions of housing structures are being carried out in Epworth, Harare and Chitungwiza. She urged the concerned authorities to be pro-people by ensuring that the affected people have alternative accommodation first before the destruction of their existing shelter.
In a previous instalment, we questioned the manner in which urban local authorities passively watch illegal construction going on only to become energetic when they decide to pull those buildings down. We believe that if the concerned parties did their job correctly, then there would be fewer structures for demolition.
The real issue that needs to be addressed is the housing backlog that is prevalent in all major cities. It is the shortage of housing that is driving people into desperation so they become gullible victims of barons illegally parcelling out land that does not belong to them.
It is also the same factor that has seen the mushrooming of dubious land developers who brazenly defraud home seekers. While housing co-operatives have played a major role in helping many people of limited means become homeowners, too much fraud has also happened in many of them.
The Government needs to re-prioritise shelter provision for the populace. Soon after Independence many commendable housing initiatives were carried out in both urban and rural areas. Then years later there was the Garikayi/Hlalani Kuhle programme which saw basic housing being built in urban areas. For whatever reason, the steam seems to have run out and the populace has been left to greedy opportunists. It is time that the Government creates an effective housing trust by establishing a revolving fund for home construction.
We envisage a fund that can start off small and benefit a limited number of people, but eventually cascade to many more as the beneficiaries pay back their loans with modest interest in a rent to buy scheme. If the State allocates the land for these purposes and uses public contractors for construction, that will push prices down to levels that are affordable to many people. These programmes can be done in collaboration with private developers to improve efficiencies.
There can also be variable repayment periods with incentives for the short term options to encourage quick recapitalisation of the programme. This would ensure that new phases can be introduced much faster thereby increasing the impact of the developments.
We are not talking of reinventing the wheel, but simply an adoption of the same model in which most high density urban houses built by municipalities become the private property of occupants.
This will not only solve a pressing development issue, but will also help the economy as many jobs are created.
Needless to say that like all other noble ideas, this can only work if corruption and inefficiency are not allowed to derail the programme before it even begins.
Otherwise, it would end up as just another chance for the usual suspects to enrich themselves while the masses continue to be deprived of basic human rights.
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| Republic of Zimbabwe First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe. |
Zimbabwe Herald
The First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe hit the nail on the head when she spoke against the manner in which demolitions of housing structures are being carried out in Epworth, Harare and Chitungwiza. She urged the concerned authorities to be pro-people by ensuring that the affected people have alternative accommodation first before the destruction of their existing shelter.
In a previous instalment, we questioned the manner in which urban local authorities passively watch illegal construction going on only to become energetic when they decide to pull those buildings down. We believe that if the concerned parties did their job correctly, then there would be fewer structures for demolition.
The real issue that needs to be addressed is the housing backlog that is prevalent in all major cities. It is the shortage of housing that is driving people into desperation so they become gullible victims of barons illegally parcelling out land that does not belong to them.
It is also the same factor that has seen the mushrooming of dubious land developers who brazenly defraud home seekers. While housing co-operatives have played a major role in helping many people of limited means become homeowners, too much fraud has also happened in many of them.
The Government needs to re-prioritise shelter provision for the populace. Soon after Independence many commendable housing initiatives were carried out in both urban and rural areas. Then years later there was the Garikayi/Hlalani Kuhle programme which saw basic housing being built in urban areas. For whatever reason, the steam seems to have run out and the populace has been left to greedy opportunists. It is time that the Government creates an effective housing trust by establishing a revolving fund for home construction.
We envisage a fund that can start off small and benefit a limited number of people, but eventually cascade to many more as the beneficiaries pay back their loans with modest interest in a rent to buy scheme. If the State allocates the land for these purposes and uses public contractors for construction, that will push prices down to levels that are affordable to many people. These programmes can be done in collaboration with private developers to improve efficiencies.
There can also be variable repayment periods with incentives for the short term options to encourage quick recapitalisation of the programme. This would ensure that new phases can be introduced much faster thereby increasing the impact of the developments.
We are not talking of reinventing the wheel, but simply an adoption of the same model in which most high density urban houses built by municipalities become the private property of occupants.
This will not only solve a pressing development issue, but will also help the economy as many jobs are created.
Needless to say that like all other noble ideas, this can only work if corruption and inefficiency are not allowed to derail the programme before it even begins.
Otherwise, it would end up as just another chance for the usual suspects to enrich themselves while the masses continue to be deprived of basic human rights.
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