Government to mordenise rural communities

MARONDERA- Rural communities in the country are set for transformation and
mordenisation which will include the construction of rental model affordable houses,
abolition of blair toilets in favour of flushing systems, and title deeds to land holders.
The Minister of National Housing and Social Amenities Daniel Garwe said this when
he addressed a Joint Press Conference on the Urban Development Corporation
(UDCORP) Projects and UDCORP Transformation Strategy.

This is part of government’s Rural Transformation Strategy which is being pursued
by President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the Second Republic under the “Leaving
no one and no place behind” mantra.

“In terms of President Mnangagwa’s mantra of “Leaving no one and no place
behind,” we have taken the rural landscape of Zimbabwe on a higher trajectory by
ensuring that we provide affordable housing in the rural communities.

“Affordable houses in terms of the flats that we are going to be building. A pilot
project is underway in Mutawatawa, Mashonaland East province, and we are going
to be building in all the 10 provinces, blocks of flats to ensure that people in the rural
areas have access to affordable housing,” said Minister Garwe.

Under the Rural Transformation Strategy and working with the Ministry of Lands,
Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, the housing ministry had come
up with a Rural Waste Management Programme to be launched soon in the 10
provinces. The programme will bring an end to blair toilets in favour of flushing
systems in the rural communities.

“As government, we are moving away from the single story construction to vertical
trajectory and we are promoting the Build Better Vertically concept to preserve land
for agriculture. This requires us to have optimum land use,” Garwe said.

He added that the Government is building five blocks of flats per administration
district, and had started with one per province.

Under the first phase, 480 units will be constructed and funded by the Government.
“However, we have invited the private sector to partner government because we
want to resuscitate the rental model which was common in the early 1990s. The land
in the rural areas has value but value is created by the issuance of title deeds.

Government has already directed the Ministry of Local Government and Public
Works to ensure that all land particularly in the Rural District Council centres, is
surveyed and titled.”

The minister said the project was targeting citizens who are willing and are living in
the rural areas.

UDCORP CEO Joey Shumbamhini said through the transformation programme code
named ‘Transformation Restore UDCORP’s Prosperity’, the corporation is set to
unlock its Land Bank (Resuscitate Project Works).

He said: “We want to increase our land bank so that we will be in a position to carry
out more projects. We are working closely with all rural district councils to deliver
housing throughout the country.”

The UDCORP is mandated to encourage and assist local authorities to plan and
coordinate urban growth and development, as well as to improve the standards of
living of the general populace of Zimbabwe through the development of housing and
related infrastructure.