CHITUNGWIZA, Zimbabwe’s third largest urban centre, is growing rapidly with government expressing concern over significant hurdles the local authority is facing in its pursuit of city status including developmental challenges.
Local Government and Public Works minister Daniel Garwe revealed this in the National Assembly last week while responding to written questions from legislators on the city status of Chitungwiza.
He outlined the criteria stipulated in the First Schedule (section 14) of the Urban Councils Act [Chapter 29:15], which guides the assessment of a municipality's suitability for city status.
Local Government and Public Works minister Daniel Garwe revealed this in the National Assembly last week while responding to written questions from St Mary's legislator Brighton Mazhindu (CCC)on the city status of Chitungwiza.
The considerations include the extent to which the municipality provides employment opportunities for inhabitants of the municipal area and surrounding areas and the variety of employment opportunities provided.
Also considered in the total valuation of properties as shown in the valuation roll and the ratios of the values of industrial, commercial and residential properties including the extent to which the municipality caters for the requirements of the community including fire fighting services, ambulance services and public parking.
The considerations include the extent of the influence of the municipality as a national centre for commercial, industrial, mining, agricultural, administrative and financial purposes, among others.
“While Chitungwiza is the third largest urban centre in the country, Chitungwiza Municipality has numerous development challenges.
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“The local authority is not a water authority and relies on the City of Harare for water supply. Chitungwiza Municipality has a total water requirement of 80 mega litres, but supply from the City of Harare has been significantly reduced, leading to water shortages and reliance on boreholes and other unsanitary sources.
“The municipality has a limited piped water network coverage with an insufficient conveyance capacity. Chitungwiza sewage is treated at the Zengeza sewage treatment works, which comprises a 36MI/d (BNR) plant built in the late 1990s with Japanese aid. The treatment plants are currently not working.”
Garwe said the pipes were made of various materials and were in different states of functionality.
“Only about five mega litres can be accounted for, the rest are released into water bodies. Some of the areas do not have piped water reticulation and approximately 32 000 properties are not listed in the local authority's database.
“The local authority requires substantial effort in the following: — regularising informal settlements, improving water treatment capacity and waste water treatment capacity,” he said.
Despite the challenges, Garwe indicated on-going efforts to facilitate Chitungwiza’s urban expansion.
He said government was addressing the urban expansion needs by facilitating the preparation of the required plans and subsequent land handover processes.
“It is worthwhile to note that the expansion requirements for Chitungwiza Town were recently in the Chitungwiza master plan prepared in 2024 by the National Call-to-Action blueprint,” he said.
Chitungwiza was officially established as a town on January 1, 1978, as a dormitory suburb of Harare (by the amalgamation of Seke, Zengeza and St Mary’s).
It was created in the 1950s and early 1960s as a self-contained urban settlement helping with rural to urban migration. It gained municipal status in 1981.
