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Lovemore Chikova Development Dialogue

Growing up in Masvingo, there was a section of Mucheke suburb which fascinated us because of unique housing structures dominant there.

Elders referred to these housing structures as “misana yenzou” because of their arch-shaped roofs that looked like the back of an elephant.

As the world started opening up, we realised the “misana yenzou” housing structures were not confined to Masvingo’s Mucheke alone.

They were found in Mbare in Harare, Makokoba in Bulawayo, Mutapa in Gweru, Sakubva in Mutare, Rimuka in Kadoma, Mahombekombe in Kariba, Chinotimba in Victoria Falls and many other towns and cities.

We later learnt that these were colonial housing structures built for blacks as a way of emphasising the racial segregation that was being pursued by the white minority regime.

The housing structures came back into the spotlight last week as part of issues that Government intends to address through the Zimbabwe National Human Settlements Policy (2020).

The policy, that maps the way forward in terms of provision of housing and organised settlements, was launched by President Mnangagwa in Harare last week at an occasion he was commissioning some blocks of flats.

It is a holistic approach to housing and settlement issues, a pro-poor policy that strives to ensure people have access to descent accommodation.

The policy deems the “misana yenzou” no longer fit for human habitation, so they will meet their fate through destruction under the urban generation and renewal programme.

In their place will arise modern and elegant housing structures befitting an upper middle income country that Zimbabwe desires to become by 2030.

Below is a peep into the Zimbabwe National Human Settlements Policy (2020) and what it intends to achieve in terms of developing the housing and settlements sector.

Urban Renewal

Apart from dealing with “misana yenzou”, the policy will go a step further to maximise on space utilisation, with Government in conjunction with local authorities, seeking to acquire derelict buildings, land or space above existing single or double-storey buildings for expansion.

Mixed-use high rise buildings will emerge from these spaces.

The policy recognises the need for preserving history, and this will result in some of the old buildings being spared destruction.

The old buildings can also act as tourist attractions if well preserved and well marketed to visitors.

Settlement financing

Funding for housing infrastructure has mainly been done by private investors, whose housing units have been coming at a high price because of the investments involved.

House seekers could not afford the prices considering that mortgages have also been out of reach because of the high cost of borrowing.

The policy ropes in other players to fund housing development.

These include Treasury, estates accounts of local authorities, public private partnerships, lines of credit, foreign direct investments and non-governmental organisations.

Private sector initiatives, pension and provident funds, employer-assisted housing schemes and diaspora remittances can also help in funding housing.

Off-site and on-site infrastructure

The policy recognises that the existing on-site and off-site infrastructure for many settlements is antiquated and has already outlived its designer life span.

This takes into consideration the pressure put on such infrastructure like dams and sewer by the growing population in urban areas as a result of rural-urban migration.

To deal with the problem, the policy makes it clear that off-site infrastructure provision is the responsibility of Government, while local authorities should deal with on-site infrastructure.

The National Housing Fund will be utilised to avail loans to local authorities for establishment of on-site infrastructure.

In the meantime, State land and local authority land that is not serviced and is unplanned will not be allocated for human settlements development.

The policy recommends ways of raising funds for off-site infrastructure development such as municipal bonds, while calling for clarity in national and legislative policy clarity, fiscal discipline in local authorities and administrative prudence.

All layout plans for all new human settlements programmes, developments and projects should provide for shared necessary infrastructure to support provision of services.

Densification

From now on, at least 40 percent of land for human settlements development will be reserved for development of high-rise apartments, while sub-division of low density stands will be allowed.

There will be a cap on the maximum residential stand sizes, the principle being that land is a finite resource and as such it has to be preserved for posterity.

The policy notes the invasion of agricultural land by housing developers, with the country having lost more than 100 000 hectares of agricultural land to housing development.

The policy recommends that all productive agricultural land be preserved, with change of use only permitted on designated land, while safeguarding all prime agricultural land.

Densification will apply to workplaces for small to medium enterprises which will adopt high rise building to accommodate more people on the same premises.

Regularisation of informal settlements

The policy notes the problems facing many local authorities with regards to informal settlements which lack basic services such as water, sewer, roads, electricity and security of tenure.

In certain instances, approved layout plans have been violated to the extent that beneficiaries have been building on undesignated land such as wetlands, institutional stands, recreational stands and open spaces.

It is envisaged that the regularisation of the informal settlements will result in the establishment of both off-site and on-site infrastructure and other necessary services.

A legal framework will be developed to oversee the regularisation process and help stop the illegal parcelling out of land.

This means any new housing construction must produce approved plans from respective councils, while development control regulations will be enforced indiscriminately.

The policy envisages well-planned and well-governed sustainable human settlements and upholds the moratorium on parcelling out of land to housing developers and cooperatives.

This will be in force until such time there is regularisation and sanitisation of settlements that have illegally mushroomed mainly in urban areas, and some rural areas.

While displacements will be the last resort, those settled in undesignated areas such as wetlands, institutional stands such as schools, health, recreational facilities and roads servitudes will be relocated to suitable land.

Rental Housing

The policy notes that the desire among Zimbabweans to own a house far outweigh that of renting, yet it has been proven that it takes long for one to finally own a house.

In that view, rental housing will be encouraged through resuscitating the rental housing market, with institutions in pension, insurance, banks and building societies being encouraged to venture into the rental housing market.

They can construct blocks of flats where security of tenure for those leasing is guaranteed.

Rural settlements

Implementation of the policy will result in the rural areas being transformed in terms of the housing model, resulting in the bridging of the gap between social amenities infrastructure in urban and rural areas.

The policy looks forward to transformation settlements in places that constitute rural areas such as communal areas, resettlement areas, rural service centres, district service centres and growth points.

Rural local authorities will be expected to produce diverse model homesteads that cater for cultural and religious considerations, while at the same time enhancing climate proofing and allowing for adoption of smart energy.

The concept of planned rural settlements will be piloted in resettlement and then cascaded to other communal areas.

Densification will be implemented at growth points and district service centres and matched with expansion of the off-site and on-site infrastructure.

End tail

Housing or shelter is an important human rights issue, which every citizen is entitled to despite their status in society. Yet, provision of enough housing is a problem for many developing countries, which are grappling with many other pressing issues.

The problem is worsened by the increased modernisation of cities and townships which continue to expand as pressure mounts from rural to urban migration.

The Zimbabwe National Human Settlements Policy (2020) is important as it comes at a critical juncture when the country is in the midst of accelerated development in various sectors. This pace in development means more demand for housing and well planned settlements that make the ease of doing business achievable.

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