The bulk of the high-rise apartments will be built in rural
areas.
The scheme will start with a pilot project in Mtawatawa,
Mashonaland East Province, which will be replicated in all the eight rural
provinces.
Skyscrapers are part of the more than 10 000 housing units
set to be delivered this year through synergies between Government and the
private sector.
Africa’s leading housing financier, Shelter Afrique, is one
of the biggest partners Government has enlisted for the construction boom,
after it provided US$25 million to Zimbabwe, with prospects for more funding.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail, National Housing and
Social Amenities Permanent Secretary Engineer Joy Makumbe said Government is
implementing its policy where all new housing projects should have a provision
of 40 percent of buildings going up.
“The ministry is targeting to directly develop about 386
flats units this year and upwards of 2 000 stands. The Government is mainly a
facilitator in the housing development sector,” said Eng Makumbe.
“As a ministry, we understand that land is a finite
resource, and that all land is not for housing only but also for other
activities such as agriculture. Therefore, the Zimbabwe National Human
Settlement Policy stipulates that layout plans for human settlements have to
dedicate 40 percent to densification, that is, high-rise flats and cluster
homes.”
She said Government has been able to attract foreign direct
investment to speed up delivery of modern housing.
“In 2022, a local institution managed to access US$11
million from Shelter Afrique.
“Shelter Afrique has provided a US$25 million Sovereign
Loan Fund to the Government of Zimbabwe for its housing projects. To date,
there are pending loan applications by various financial institutions in excess
of US$50 million that are being considered by Shelter Afrique,” said Eng
Makumbe.
On smart cities, Eng Makumbe said her ministry was wrapping
up some matters with other ministries to ensure the projects were implemented.
“Presently, the ministry is finalising issues to do with
land for smart cities with the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works;
the
Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural
Development; and AFC bank.
“The ministry is negotiating with potential financiers — in
collaboration with the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development;
the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works; the Chirundu Local Board and
other stakeholders — about Chirundu Smart City,” she said.
Housing delivery is one of the 14 national priority areas
under the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS 1).
Eng Makumbe said Government is walking the talk in
addressing the national housing backlog.
“The NDS 1 articulates that the Government has a target to
provide 220 000 housing units by the year 2025. As of December 2022, we had 156
000 housing units delivered,” she said.
One of the challenges besetting the housing sector has been
informal settlements, but Eng Makumbe said Government had created a conducive
environment for housing development by providing policy direction and
regulatory frameworks to address this concern.
“We have managed to contain or, rather, deprive further
invasion of informal settlements, specifically in wetlands and dysfunctional
settlements. We have taken a step in addressing challenges of dysfunctional
settlements through regularisation, as is the case with Gimboki in Mutare,” she
said.
Speaking at the launch of the Fontaine Ridge Housing
Project in Harare last Wednesday, President Mnangagwa said, as part of
implementing Vision 2030, the Second Republic is “collaborating with key
stakeholders to make the country’s human settlements resilient and sustainable
to improve the people’s quality of life”. Sunday Mail
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