At least five blocks of flats would be constructed in every rural district by 2030 under an initiative that is being spearheaded by the Ministry of National Housing and Social Amenities, it has been learnt.
The Government expects to get part of the funding from
Pan-African housing financier, Shelter Afrique, which recently hosted its 41st
Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Victoria Falls, where Zimbabwe assumed
chairmanship of the institution’s bureau.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail, National Housing and
Social Amenities Minister Daniel Garwe said the programme had been endorsed by
Shelter Afrique.
“The transformation of rural constituencies cannot be
over-emphasised and one key deliverable is to ensure rural communities are
modernised, as President Mnangagwa has pronounced.
“One of the resolutions made at the Victoria Falls AGM is
to access sovereign lending from Shelter Afrique, and Zimbabwe is top on the
agenda in accessing that funding. We also discussed actual housing delivery; we
believe that affordable funding from Shelter Afrique will help Government in championing
that cause.”
Plans to construct the flats are already underway, with the
ground-breaking ceremony set for next month. Phase one of the programme is
funded by Treasury.
“We have secured land in Gokwe, Mutasa, Binga and Mudzi
where the President visited and made a promise. We are working with the rural
housing department in the ministry. Our pilot project is in
Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe, which we will be launching soon, as Vision 2030 speaks
to the entire Zimbabwean community, and not just urban areas.”
The flats, Minister Garwe said, would be available on a
rent-to-buy model, with civil servants prioritised. Discussions with other
investors to fund the project are ongoing.
“We are also talking to pension funds, insurance companies
and we are putting packages in place which can attract investors to come and
invest in those areas. We are also going to influence the generality of Africa
in terms of joining Zimbabwe in transforming the lives of people in the rural
communities, which is one of the Victoria Falls declarations.”
As part of plans to ensure the programme becomes
successful, the Government is migrating from the traditional use of brick and
mortar to new technologies. Contractors have been engaged to present available
options, amid indications some of the new models will allow delivery of a
minimum of 100 blocks of flats per month. Association of Rural District
Councils of Zimbabwe chief executive officer Dr Isaac Matsilele said
construction of flats in rural areas will promote urban to rural migration.
“Developing rural communities is a noble intention because
housing has always been a challenge in rural areas,” he said.
“Workers who are deployed in rural areas will not shun
their job because they will have somewhere decent to stay. So we really
appreciate the move and we are ready to work with Government to develop rural
areas and promote urban to rural migration.”
In 2021, Cabinet approved the National Housing Settlements
Policy, which, among other measures, requires “at least 40 percent of new
housing projects to be reserved for construction of high-rise buildings to curb
unrestricted spread of settlements and promote modern housing infrastructure.” Sunday Mail
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