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Innocent Ruwende Senior Reporter

Harare City Council has with immediate effect halted land sales to ensure that it gets value from its properties given the prevailing economic situation.

Council made the resolution at a full council meeting on Thursday.

In an interview, Harare Mayor Councillor Herbert Gomba said council would review rates to protect its interests.

“There were numerous resolutions which were passed,” he said. “We are looking at the leases and sale of council property and land to see whether it is prudent for us to sell them in this particular environment.

“While we are reviewing the rates, we have decided that we should stop sales and proceed to lease so that we will be able to review the rates. This is done to protect the interests of council and to ensure that it gets value from its properties.”

Director of housing and community services Mr Edmore Nhekairo announced plans to purge the city’s housing waiting list to remain with active participants only for effective management.

According to recent minutes of the Education, Health, Housing and Community Services and Licensing Committee, individuals who wish to remain on the waiting list would be required to obtain purging forms from councils’ Remembrance Drive, Mbare, offices.

“Individuals would be required to complete and return the purging forms to the Department of Housing and Community Services, Remembrance Drive, Mbare, by a date to be advised through an advert to remain active on the housing waiting list,” read the minutes.

“The individuals who fail to return the purging forms on time would automatically be removed from housing waiting list. The committee noted that the advantage of the purging process was that it helped track and update the waiting list database whether or not applicants had experienced notable life changes, which could include changes in welfare benefits, family composition or income.”

The councillors felt that purging also helped to remain with only active participants, which would make maintenance of the database easier, realistic and less costly.

Following discussion, it was resolved that Mr Nhekairo continuously purge the housing waiting list  annually.

Council also noted that the housing waiting list had ballooned to 151 014 applicants as of December 31 last year and yet most of applicants are either home owners already or are deceased or no longer live in Harare.

The number of active applicants on the waiting list stood at 52 864.