City partners CBZ in flats renovations Demolitions and renovations have started on flats in Mbare
Demolitions and renovations have started on flats in Mbare

Demolitions and renovations have started on flats in Mbare

Tinashe Makichi Property Reporter
The Harare City Council has commenced Mbare hostels renovation works in partnership with CBZ Bank. The renovation process entails building new blocks, which will house the families in the hostels set for renovations. Harare City Council spokesperson Michael Chideme, yesterday said that a deal had been struck with CBZ and renovation works have commenced.

“In this case, we first build a set of blocks and once complete, then we decamp some families into the new modern flats. In some cases, we are saying if a flat is still fit, we go for renovations and in some cases if the flat fitness is in question, then we will completely demolish and build new ones,” said Mr Chideme.

It is estimated that all the City Council flats in Mbare house about 70 00 people. A health time bomb had been looming for residents of Mbare’s Shawasha, Matapi, Nenyere and Mbare flats, where council workers reside although research has shown that many are not council workers but those that have migrated from rural areas over the past two decades.

Inside the hostels people have been living like ‘animals’, toilets and bathrooms flooded with human waste and stinking flowing water that has led to some residents constructing ridges at their doorsteps. On the other side of the bathrooms and toilets are sinks that have for long collapsed and are sometimes used as toilets, worse still some residents still wash their kitchen utensils in the same facilities.

City Council this year also partnered two local banks to develop residential stands for low-income earners around the city with an initial project targeting more than 1 200 stands. The arrangement was a Public-Private Partnership with FBC Bank and National Building Society aimed at providing low cost housing development, while the financial institutions will provide mortgages.

NBS will develop 333 stands while FBC will develop 858 stands. The City Council has been making efforts to make sure citizens are able to get decent housing through entering into partnerships with local banks and the private sector.

You Might Also Like

Comments

Take our Survey

We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey