The ManicaPost
Cletus Mushanawani
News Editor
THE National Social Security Authority (NSSA) is poised to play a leading role in the funding of the much-awaited Sakubva Urban Renewal Project, The Manica Post can reveal.
The Sakubva Urban Renewal Project was given national project status following a ground-breaking ceremony presided over by President Mnangagwa last year.
Progress on the project was stalled by funding challenges as well as the Covid-19 pandemic and the coming on board of NSSA is expected to see work commencing in the immediate future.
NSSA spokesperson, Ms Getrude Chipamba, this week confirmed the coming on board of the organisation in the Sakubva Urban Renewal Project.
“NSSA is refocusing its investment thrust towards investments that will contribute to economic development and still achieve financial benefit for our contributors and pensioners. The investment sectors being targeted include infrastructure development, agriculture and renewable energy among others. In our view, Sakubva Urban Renewal is one such project that is likely to have a huge economic impact.
“When considering investment in such projects, NSSA follows a well-defined investment process which involves a thorough due diligence process to establish the viability of undertaking the investment. NSSA is currently considering the Sakubva Urban Renewal Project as a potential investment with a focus on the areas that are likely to be commercially viable such as the (Murahwa) Green Market targeted at the SMEs,” she said.
Ms Chipamba added: “NSSA as a social security provider has a keen interest in uplifting the living conditions of its members and Zimbabweans in general and the Sakubva Urban Renewal Project goes a long way in realising the Second Republic’s goal to make Zimbabwe an upper middle class economy by 2030.”
Plan Infrastructure Development (PID) — the consultant and developer of Sakubva Renewal Project’s architecture and infrastructure planner- Mr Hillary Mukaratirwa, said they managed to get NSSA on board through the help of Central Government.
“We had a meeting with President Mnangagwa late last year which was also attended by Minister of State for Manicaland State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Dr Ellen Gwaradzimba and other stakeholders involved in the project where President Mnangagwa came up with this idea of roping NSSA into the project. We pursued his suggestion and I am glad that NSSA has shown a keen interest and will be playing a leading role in this crucial project.
“Other funders like BancABC and ZIMRE are still on board. These companies will fund different projects like the flea market, long distance bus terminus and high rise flats,” he said.
Mr Mukaratirwa said when the project commenced, many companies were not keen to come on board because of the prevailing exchange rate at that time.
“When the project started, the official exchange rate was around 1:25, while the parallel market rate was around 1:60. Many people we approached viewed the project as not viable as they said they would not recoup the money they would have invested.
“We now have a special purpose vehicle to run this project. We also got advise from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development to approach the Insurance and Pensions Commission to have the project granted prescribed asset status. This was done and this gives appetite to many pension funds to come on board and invest in the project. We expect that by March there will be a hive of activity in Sakubva as the economy and exchange rate have stabilised,” he said.
The Sakubva Urban Renewal Project is part of a broader national Urban Renewal Project initiative aimed at modernising local cities including Mutare’s oldest and run-down suburb of Sakubva, in line with Government’s Vision 2030.
Under the project, Mutare City Council will construct high rise flats, revamp Sakubva Flea Market, Sakubva Bus Terminus, Murahwa Green Market Home Industries and Sakubva Vegetable Market.
A total of 225 hectares of land have been unveiled by the council for this initiative.
Government has made a commitment to transform local cities under a Smart Zimbabwe blueprint which is expected to turn local urban areas into smart cities that use information communication technologies.
Initially, BancABC was expected to inject US$8 million for the first phase of the project, but progress was stalled by the Covid-19 pandemic which saw the country being on a national lockdown for the greater part of last year.
