IMAGINE every rainy season, your yard gets flooded; water levels get up to knee level like a river forcing its way into the house and damaging property, and the only solution is to demolish your house and move out.
This is the fate faced by Mr Brian Ndlovu of Harrisvale
suburb in Bulawayo and his family.
As a result of his home being turned into a “river”, Mr
Ndlovu has lost so much including a car and household property that was
submerged in water.
Bulawayo City Council has since decided that the only way
for the family to escape the destructive floods is to demolish the property
that Mr Ndlovu bought a few years ago.
This was after the local authority sent a team from the
Engineering Services (Roads) and Financial Services departments that conducted
a survey to determine the properties that were likely to be affected by
flooding in the area.
It was observed that the home in question, number 9
Hollyhock Close is located on a watercourse within a flood plain “so nothing must
be left in the water’s path”.
According to the latest council minutes, the house has
severe flooding every year since 2018.
The property owners submitted a Public Liability claim for
damage to their property in March 2018, which resulted in the insurance company
disbursing funds.
According to the minutes, in January of 2022, the property
flooded again and the family submitted a second Public Liability claim, but
this time it fell through.
“The flooding incident was a natural cause and insurance
does not cover liability against natural causes. The current owners were the
third owners of the property and queries were raised on the sudden emergence of
flooding occurrences, considering no historical information was available on
the previous tenants’ flooding, as previous owners could have sold the property
in an attempt to avoid the occurring floods,” read the minutes.
“The geographical location of number 9 Hollyhock Close
makes it prone to flooding. It was observed that two properties numbers 14 and
16 had their floor slabs raised to levels that were above normal, 150mm above
ground level. This made the properties on 14 and 16 less susceptible to
flooding.”
According to the minutes, Councillor Rodney Jele was of the
view that council utilises the property for other purposes such as establishing
a youth centre instead of demolishing it.
However, the assistant director of Housing and Community
Services Zenzo Sibanda said there was no alternative other than to demolish the
property.
“The Assistant Director of Housing and Community Services
advised that the property was on the waterway hence occupation of any kind was
not possible. He added that council would compensate the owner and assist the
owner to acquire a stand should he wish to. Offering building assistance puts
council at risk of encountering the same challenge it was currently facing,”
read the minutes.
As such, the local authority resolved to demolish the
property so that it becomes a water drainage thoroughfare and compensate the
owners.
Mr Ndlovu will be compensated based on a fair valuation of
the property.
“That the current owner surrenders his title deeds to
council as part of the implementation process once compensation has been
concluded. That should the owner opt to rebuild he can be assisted to purchase
a stand from council,” read part of the council’s resolution.
A Chronicle news crew visited Harrisvale and it seems that
water from different directions converges and passes through Hollynock Close.
Residents who live in that close said flooding has been a
perennial problem not only affecting house number 9.
The area has various drainage trenches with one that looks
more than half a meter deep and nearly a meter-wide passing through the
affected house.
One of Mr Ndlovu’s neighbours, Mr Allen Suitor said the
water flows like a river through his yard into his neighbour’s.
“When it rains and the drains get full on Cosmo Road, the
water flows across the road into our yards, making a big trench, cutting
through my neighbour’s yard and causing destruction. The way I look at it is
that the pipes are too small so the water that comes from wherever overwhelms
them and spills over the drain and gets into our yards,” he said.
He said the problem started in the 90s when the
neighbourhood started being extended.
“It has been happening ever since they started extending
Harrisvale. I have been here since 1979. In this section of Harrisvale the 10
houses here, we didn’t have these problems. So the water comes flowing from
Upper Harrisvale, and it’s a big problem,” said Mr Suitor.
Another neighbour, who lives two houses from the
flood-prone house, who only identified herself as MaMpofu, showed the news crew
where the floods have damaged the bricks on her house.
She said sometimes water gets to knee level in her yard.
“We have tried a lot of tricks when it rains. For example,
we have dug trenches to guide the water and sweet potato mounds.
When it rains, it floods here up to knee level. I’m afraid
for my house because the water has damaged it, the bricks are disintegrating
and the walls are cracking,” said MaMpofu. Chronicle
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