Government moves to address housing at rural district centres
Story by Wellington Makonese
THE government has expressed its commitment towards availing housing to all with the focus now on rural communities in line with the National Human Settlement Policy.
The country has witnessed tremendous progress in housing over the past couple of years in urban settlements, with the private sector also playing its part.
Briefing ZBC News in Harare this Wednesday, the Minister of Housing and Social Amenities, Honourable Daniel Garwe said the government is pushing modernised housing at rural district centres.
“We have a whole department of rural housing focusing on the provision of sustainable housing in rural district centers. We have started with Mutawatawa Business centres in UMP where they are 4 blocks of flats. This is the template that we have for all the rural district centers and we are pushing that so that we have the modern affordable infrastructure in all areas for the fulfillment of an upper middle-income society by 2030,” he said.
He also spoke on the role of government in facilitating housing projects with more financiers coming on board.
“As a government, we provide sweeter. We can’t have suburbs in rural areas we are cognizant of the fact that we have people who need modern settlement and we facilitate that. We are very excited that the banking sector is not contributing. We are negotiating with pension funds and banks to develop housing while we also refining legislation,” he added.
The establishment of modern housing in rural districts is in line with National Development Strategy One, which targets one million housing units by 2025, while also feeding into the leaving no one and no place behind thrust.
