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Cllr Madzoke

Michael Magoronga Midlands Correspondent
Kwekwe City Council has unveiled 688 housing stands in a bid to clear a housing backlog that stands at 3 000. Speaking at a ground-breaking ceremony in Mbizo 21 last week, Kwekwe mayor Councillor Matenda Madzoke said half of the newly-unveiled stands would be developed by a private developer, while the local authority would attend to the remainder.

“We have given 300 stands to a private developer, CBZ Bank, which is already at an advanced stage, whilst as council, we will also develop the other 300 before selling them to our ratepayers,” he said.

Clr Madzoke said there was enough land in the mining town to cover those who were on the city’s housing waiting list.

“We want every one of our citizen to have a home and if we have the land, why not give it to our people so that everyone has shelter?” he said.

Housing committee chairperson for the city Councillor Lemison Dube said there were plans to clear the waiting list by 2060.

“We are in tandem with the Government’s goal on accommodation, which says a home for everyone by 2060, and if we continue like this, we can achieve the goal in no time,” he said.

The city’s director of works, Engineer John Mhike, said it was now all systems go for the housing development project.

“We are ready for the work and we have given ourselves a timeframe that we are going to take to complete the connection of water pipes, sewer system and roads,” he said.

Eng Mhike said with the equipment at hand, the residential stands could be up for grabs within two months if all went as planned.