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Manicaland Correspondent

THE Parliamentary Portiforlio Committee on Public Accounts has raised concern over the poor maintenance of Government houses in Manicaland under the National Housing Fund.

Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee Mr Caston Matewu said some houses in Rusape and Mutare were in a bad state and needed urgent attention.

He was speaking during a recent tour of Government properties in Mutare aimed at verifying maintenance and upkeep of the infrastructure.

Most of the committee members raised concern over the non-availability of a maintenance plan at the Department of Public Works, after it emerged that the houses in Mutare had last been attended to in      2009.

“This is the second visit in Manicaland. We have been to Rusape and now we are in Mutare on a verification visit and we are looking at all Government properties to assess their maintenance and upkeep,” said Mr Matewu.

“I think there are variations in the maintenance of the properties. Some are okay but for some, there is work that needs to be done.”

Mt Matewu questioned why leaking geysers and the sewer systems in Fairbridge Park had not been fixed for months.

The Department of Public Works is responsible for repairs and maintenance of all Government properties.

Mr Matewu said after their visit, the committee would compile a detailed report on their findings which would be submitted to Parliament.

“We will produce a report which explains the state of the Government properties after the visits across the country,” he said. “After Mutare, we are visiting Masvingo.”

Responding to questions raised by the members of the committee, Manicaland Public Services and National Housing director Engineer Tendai Chiwanza said the department was supposed to maintain the infrastructures after every five years, but failed to do so due to limited funds.

“We have not been following the schedule because we have not been getting enough funds to fully maintain the infrastructure,” said Eng Chiwanza.