Title deeds for Gimboki

18 Mar, 2022 - 00:03 0 Views
Title deeds for Gimboki Government has issued a seven-day ultimatum for all illegal settlers in Gimboki to voluntarily vacate the area or risk the humiliation of being evicted

The ManicaPost

 

Cletus Mushanawani
News Editor

AFTER years of being moved from pillar to post, Gimboki, Federation and Mahalape residents have every reason to smile as Government is making moves to allocate them title deeds and provide them all the basic social amenities required in an urban set-up.

A total of 850 people from Gimboki Phases One, Two and Three will benefit from the development which is expected in the near future.

Since 2007 when it was mooted, Gimboki Housing Scheme has been a thorn in the flesh for both the Government and Mutare City Council, with some land barons and politicians using the scheme as a turf for their political and economic battles.

Last year, Government identified Gimboki Housing Scheme as a priority project under National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), an indication of its commitment to restore sanity at the settlement.

Addressing an oversubscribed ZANU PF star rally at Dangamvura Grounds on Sunday, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga said all challenges affecting the development of Gimboki into a proper urban settlement would soon be a thing of the past.

VP Chiwenga said the provision of all basic amenities to areas like Gimboki, Federation and Mahalape was Government’s top priority.

“Government is seized with the issue of Gimboki, Federation and Mahalape settlements. There were a lot of challenges in these settlements, but all these will soon be a thing of the past.

“Roads are being worked on, while eight boreholes to argument water supplies have been drilled in Dangamvura and Chikanga. Seven out of the eight boreholes are working and plans are in place to drill eight more boreholes as we wait for the completion of the Dangamvura Water Project.

“Water and sewer provision should be in place. In short, we are in the process of ensuring that all social amenities are availed to Gimboki. After providing the social amenities, title deeds will then be availed to residents,” said VP Chiwenga to wide applauses from the gathering.

VP Chiwenga said alternative land would be availed to those settled at Mahalape.

“We do not want settlements to be developed in areas that endanger people’s lives, like the Mahalape area which is near the railway line. These people will be relocated to a safer area, but this will only be done when the identified area is properly serviced. We do not want to dump people in areas where there are no social amenities as some of them are in this current predicament after being duped by land barons,” said VP Chiwenga.

ZANU PF Politburo member and national secretary for finance, Cde Patrick Chinamasa who is also heavily involved in ensuring that normalcy prevails in Gimboki, expressed satisfaction on the progress made in addressing the challenges in Gimboki.

“The plight of the people of Gimboki, Federation, Mahalape were heard by the highest office on the land and everything is being done to address this. I want to assure everyone that title deeds will be availed in the immediate future to ensure residents’ security of tenure.

“The Second Republic is a listening Government and will ensure that it delivers on promises made to the people. We want to see our people living comfortably,” said Cde Chinamasa.

In Gimboki, it is a hive of activity with workmen busy on the roads, while mapping of the area for proper planning and designing is being spearheaded by a developer — Ncube Burrow Consulting Engineers — which has over 30 years corporate experience at national and regional level.

The developer’s work is being supervised by experts from the Ministry of National Housing and Social Amenities as well as those from the Surveyor General’s Office.

Gimboki Residents Development chairman, Mr Nomore Brian Muza, confirmed that things are moving in the right direction in Gimboki.

“A technical team from the developers has been on the ground to map the area and see who will get the title deeds. So far, 850 beneficiaries have been identified from Phases One, Two and Three.

“We were assured that the title deeds will be issued before March 26 and beneficiaries are over the moon. We have waited for years to get security of tenure. Money was lost to land barons, and we are happy that Government has come to our rescue,” he said.

Mr Muza added: “Roads are being opened, while some are being rehabilitated to ensure that public transport reaches all the corners of the settlement.

“Boreholes are being sunk. Water designs to ensure connection to the main water line are also being redesigned after the initial ones disappeared. As residents, we are more than ready to be recognised as residents of Mutare and pay our rates and levies just like everybody else. We are not a pariah society,” he said.

In 2015, Government instituted a probe into the housing scheme and a litany of regularities were unearthed, including the fact that co-operatives under the housing scheme were mishandling funds paid by beneficiaries.

Issues of double allocation of stands were also uncovered.

As the drama unfolded, frustrated beneficiaries moved on site and built shacks, thereby establishing the illegal settlement.

In a complaint letter dated April 24, 2015 and written to the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, some members of the housing scheme complained of massive abuse of office, corruption, misappropriation of public funds and violation of corporate governance principles.

The members complained that nothing tangible had been done to develop the stands since 2007 despite beneficiaries forking out millions of dollars towards that.

 

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