MASVINGO City Council is on a drive to formulate policies that will ensure the upgrading
of old buildings and development of undeveloped spaces by the stand owners in the Central
Business District.
The local authority is working towards achieving an Industrialised World Class Metropolitan
City by 2030 and according to the Public Works and Planning Committee, this entails the
need for stand owners to quickly develop their spaces.
“Committee members emphasised the need for council to formulate an urban redevelopment
policy to enable enforcing upgrading of old buildings and prompt stand owners, who have
undeveloped stands in the Central Building District to develop their stands.
The Finance Director advised that the stand owners on the open space near Glow Petroleum
Service Station were issued title deeds with no conditions governing development time
frames, as such it was difficult to enforce,” reads part of the minutes.
The committee agreed that council should have a meeting with stand owners in the CBD,
who have not yet developed, with a view to seek clarity on what was stalling their building
plans.
Meanwhile, the Health, Housing and Environmental Services Committee instructed the
Acting Director of Housing and Social Services, Simbarashe Mandishona, to repossess stands
that were due for repossession.
“The committee resolved to recommend that the Acting Director of Housing and Social
Services is instructed to do due diligence and repossess all the residential stands in the
commonage, which were due for repossession and reallocate same to home seekers on the
council’s waiting list.
The local authority has advertised for the repossession of 49 stands in Hillside Extension,
Runyararo South West, Runyararo North West, Runyararo, Target Kopje Extension, Rujeko
and Mucheke Medium.
The stands were allocated to beneficiaries more than 10 years ago. Failure to develop the
stands within a period of five years is a violation of the council housing policy.
According to the advert, any objection by the beneficiaries to the proposed repossession
should be launched to the office of the Director of Housing and Social Services before March
20, in which failure to do so will result in the local authority reallocating the undeveloped
stands.