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Nyore Madzianike Manicaland Bureau
DELAYS by Mutare City Council in giving Triang of Raheen Housing Project a partial development permit have stalled the construction of low-income housing units that could have started after the installation of sewer and water reticulation systems.

The project was adopted in line with Government’s Zim-Asset economic blueprint to provide affordable houses to citizens. Boasting 1 219 residential and 45 commercial stands, the project is now waiting for the partial development permit from council for construction of houses to start.

Triang of Raheen project director, Dr Nancy Saungweme, said they were making frantic efforts to acquire the partial development permit from council.

“Everything is just 100 percent complete with sewer and water reticulation systems already in place,” she said.

“For a project to be considered complete, it needs to have water and sewer. The roads, the bridges and everything that makes the place habitable are in place. I can safely say the place is now habitable. This is an affordable housing project, which seeks to accord every citizen an opportunity to own a house. The project is in line with the Zim-Asset scheme objective to provide affordable houses to people by the year 2018.”

Dr Saungweme said they had been waiting for the permit over the past four months.

“We are not sure as to what is causing the delay in granting us the partial development permit,” she said.

“We finished this project some three to four months ago, but to get the letter is taking us long. Everything is just slow and to get even a letter of acknowledgement from council is taking long. I appeal to council to look at the project objectively and just let us process things in the right way, so that no one suffers. Even the beneficiaries are now thinking it is the developer who is not doing justice to business, yet there is a third part who is at play, and that happens to be the city council.”

Dr Saungweme said Mutare’s town clerk was pleased with developments at Triang of Raheen after touring the site recently.