MARONDERA- The Municipality of Marondera and Index (Pvt) Ltd remain entangled over
the renovation and revenue collection for the Dombotombo hostels.
The two hostels, Rusike and Marondera, have holding capacities of 111 and 103 occupants
respectively. The council and Index signed the hostels’ refurbishment agreement in 2015 and
the later was given 10 years, reviewable after five years, to carry out the job of renovating
and collecting funds.
Council allegedly failed to evict people staying for free in the dilapidated Rusike hostel to
pave the way for its renovations by Index, before making it clear that they intended to
terminate the two parties’ contract.
The matter is under arbitration at the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works.
Stewart Dzimati, a general manager Index, remains resolute that they will not be cowed to
“abruptly” cease operations or stop collecting revenue for Marondera hostel which the
company renovated as per agreement with the local authority.
“Our contract with the council is still binding and we will not give in to their demands for the
legally binding agreement to be terminated. We renovated Marondera hostel to the tune of
more than US$50 000 and that is why we are collecting rentals paid by tenants who are
staying in that hostel. We are channelling the money towards the maintenance of that hostel.
Our workers need to be paid every month while there are detergents and other accessories
that need to be purchased now and again.
“It is up to council to fulfil their side of the agreement as they are supposed to remove people
who are staying for free in the other hostel which we have not been able to renovate,”
Dzimati said.
He further stated that council was to blame for the stalling of the project which would have
gone a long way in addressing accommodation challenges faced by residents of this
provincial capital.
“They (council) tried to bully us and said they can terminate our contract yet they are the
ones to blame for the stalling of the project. This is what forced us, as Index, to take the
matter to their parent Ministry for arbitration. The High Court is the other arbitrator and that
is what is contained in our contract.
“We are failing to recover some of our money which we invested when we renovated the
other hostel (Marondera). We carried a lot of work on the hostel and that includes plumbing,
painting, carpentry, electrical and landscaping,” Dzimati said.
Marondera Mayor Chengetai Murowa is on record saying he would push for the
refurbishment of the hostels as this would go a long way in helping address the town’s
housing shortage.
Marondera Town Clerk Rinashe Nyamuzihwa who landed the post substantively last month
said they will continue to engage Index (Pvt) Ltd to bring closure to the standoff.
“On our part, we are carefully studying the contract which we entered into with them so that
outstanding issues can be resolved. The hostels have a historical meaning to this town and we
want them to be in a good habitable condition so that some of our people can be
accommodated there,” Nyamuzihwa said.
Marondera Mayor Simbabrashe Nyahuye said as council, they will prioritise the
refurbishment of the hostels as this will help in helping address the town’s housing shortage.
He said: “The refurbishments should go on as we aim to address the issue of the shortage of
accommodation in this provincial capital. We will investigate to see where the project is
really stalling. What we want is to develop the town so that it attracts investors.”
