ZIMBABWE’S Regional, Town and Country Planning Act still has rules from a century ago, according to real estate experts, which is impeding property development and town planning.
The experts who spoke to businessdigest on the sidelines of the Zimbabwe Smart Cities and Devolution Masterclass organised by the Global Renaissance Investments (GRI) in Nyanga this week, said the act needed a complete overhaul.
“I am not defending the lack of development on infrastructure in Zimbabwe but you will realise that there is still in use of archaic planning legislation,” GRI board chairperson Joseph Kamuzhanje said.
“The Regional, Town and Country Planning Act, still has a lot of provisions dating from 1923 and 1933. There is no way it will be able to resolve some of these problems 100 years later. No way.
“We have also witnessed a poorly performing micro and macro economy. Urban residents (are) no longer able to pay for services.
“So, if you look at how much time has passed you will understand how we got to where we are today, but what is important is what we do now which definitely speaks to the review of these laws.”
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Kamuzhanje noted that the country was also struggling with lack of experienced planners and support staff as well as lack of current data that allows planners and policy makers to make necessary decisions.
All these challenges, he said, has perpetuated poor service delivery, horizontal growth of urban areas, which increases the costs of services as well as a serious strain on key services.
“We don’t have a long-term planning framework and you realise now most suburbs have no access to municipal water reticulation. They are surviving on boreholes, water supply companies, untreated and unprotected water sources,” he said.
“Most suburbs are not connected to the municipal sewer systems, pollution of water sources, some of which supply drinking water. We have serious congestion on the roads causing unnecessary delays and loss of productive people-hours. Invasion of open and green spaces, making it difficult for urban areas to breathe.”
Real estate expert Alexander Millin told businessdigest that the issue of archaic laws, legislations and bylaws was of key concern for the sector.
According to him, the last model building bylaws were last updated in 1977.
“That is a shame because how much time have we moved in terms of technology to the extent that we are now forced to build a house in a certain way despite climate change. Use of sustainable energy for example you can timber sustainably,” he said.
“You can use other building materials without using brick and mortar. Even densification people say with this type of land we can't build a certain house. All these laws need to be changed not only the bylaws but the land act and the mines and minerals act. They all are having issues as they do not see the issue to do with land rights.”
Millin, however, believed that the country has also made efforts to sanitise the situation, including the enactment of the Urban Councils Act.