Bulawayo, (New Ziana)-Local building contractors have called for the urgent review of outdated building bylaws and the establishment of a legal framework to regulate contractors, saying the current environment is slowing down housing and infrastructure development in the country.
In an interview on the sidelines of an infrastructural development stakeholders’ engagement meeting on Wednesday, Reliant Holdings chief executive officer and past president of Zimbabwe Building Contractors Association(ZBCA) Obert Sibanda said outdated regulations and the absence of a Contractors’ Act remain among the key barriers to progress in the construction sector.
“First of all, we need to appreciate that housing is one of the single sectors capable of driving economic development. It creates employment during construction, stimulates demand for furniture, and even boosts financial and insurance services,” he said.
“However, we face major challenges. The first one is that the building bylaws we are using date back to 1977. They are outdated and must be updated.
“The second issue is that, unlike engineers or architects who are regulated by Acts of Parliament, contractors do not have such an Act. We have been pushing for the Contractors’ Bill for many years, but it still hasn’t materialised,” he added.
Sibanda also urged authorities and financial institutions to explore innovative housing finance models to make home ownership more accessible, particularly for the youth and informal sector workers.
He proposed public-private partnerships (PPPs) as a key driver for affordable housing finance, alongside interest rate subsidies and wider use of prescribed asset status to attract investors.
“There is also need to promote alternative models such as rent-to-own or rent-to-buy, which are popular in countries like Nigeria. Government or private developers can build houses and allow occupants to rent while their payments go toward ownership,” he said.
Sibanda further encouraged microfinance institutions to take part in small-scale housing financing to support incremental home building by low-income earners.
“If microfinance institutions can provide small, short-term loans for stages like foundations or roofing, people in the informal sector can gradually build their homes,” he explained.
Sibanda also called for stronger collaboration between the private sector and local authorities to address land access, title deeds, and the provision of basic utilities such as water and sewer systems.
“Access to land remains a challenge. Land is often too expensive for the private sector, making it difficult to service and develop. We need collective solutions involving both government and private players to make land more affordable and infrastructure-ready,” he said.
New Ziana
