BULAWAYO City Council (BCC) is moving towards reducing the city’s housing backlog through public-private partnerships (PPPs), among other interventions.
Bulawayo’s housing backlog stands at over 100 000, and has been increasing over the years due to the city’s growing population.
Provincial Affairs and Devolution secretary Paul Nyoni, however, told Southern Eye that there has been noticeable progress towards reducing the backlog.
“Housing delivery picked up in 2023 as the local authority, BCC, engaged in a number of PPPs for various serviced residential stands in Bulawayo. In addition, the King City project behind Sunninghill is poised to deliver 10 000 stands to residents of Bulawayo,” Nyoni said in an interview.
“Some beneficiaries have started construction work on their fully serviced stands.
“There are also private sector-driven projects in the Emganwini and Richmond areas covering both high and medium density.
“They also provide opportunities for various suppliers throughout construction and operations.”
Reports show that less than 30 000 housing stands have been availed in the past decade despite that a growing number of people are need of houses.
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Council once sought a partnership deal with the Local Government ministry for the construction of residential flats in the sprawling Cowdray Park and Emganwini high-density suburbs to ease the city’s housing backlog.
BCC has lifted the suspension on the sale of housing stands on pre-sale to prevent desperate home-seekers setting up illegal settlements.
Under the pre-sale model, beneficiaries provide funds for servicing of their stands after entering into a payment plan with the council in which an initial deposit of 25% to 35% is paid.
The balance is paid on completion of servicing of the stands.
Nyoni said government was supporting the council to address water and sanitation challenges.
“Through devolution funds and a government facilitated loan from the African Development Bank, the pumping and purification side has largely been addressed,” he said.
“Measures have been put in place to alleviate this problem. In addition, the government has an ongoing borehole drilling project mostly at schools, clinics and churches to assist communities around Bulawayo.”
