(NEWZIMBABWE) Govt plans major national housing drive

Govt plans major national housing drive
10/11/2012 00:00:00
by NewZiana

THE government plans to build modern flats in major cities to alleviate the shortage of accommodation across the country, a cabinet Minister has said.

Speaking after touring Mutare, Minister Giles Mutsekwa said the government would build six state-of-the-art apartment blocks in the eastern border city and other urban centres in the country to reduce the housing backlog. Mutsekwa said construction would begin in January next year.

"We are rolling out a scheme to build flats in the country's biggest cities to alleviate accommodations challenges. We are targeting Harare, Mutare, Bulawayo and Gweru," Mutsekwa said.

He said the government had mobilised the resources to build the flats and was only waiting for the local authorities to make the land available to his Ministry.

In Mutare, the Ministry intends to build six modern flats which would reduce the number of people on the municipality housing waiting list.

Acting Mutare Mayor George Jerison welcomed the government plans saying would reduce the housing waiting list, which currently stands at 50,000.

"Statistics that we have show that about 50 000 people are on our housing waiting list. Such a programme will solve accommodation problems in Mutare and probably other cities," he said.

Water Resources and Development Minister Samuel Sipepa Nkomo accompanied Mutsekwa.

Nkomo pledged that his Ministry would drill 10 boreholes in the high density suburb of Dangamvura as well as to resuscitate the irrigation scheme at Nyanyadzi, about 35 kilometres south of Mutare.

Earlier Nkomo had toured the irrigation scheme where he pledged to write off US$27,000 which farmers owe the Zimbabwe National Water Authority.