Govt drafts human settlement policy

THE Government has drafted a human settlement policy set to address the issue of sub-standard housing structures in rural areas which are prone to destruction during natural disasters such as floods.

In an interview last week, Civil Protection Unit (CPU) director Mr Nathan Nkomo said rural areas were the most affected by natural disasters due to lack of planning and the new policy would be the guiding framework to deal with the problems.

“It is true that most of the material used for the construction of rural houses is not durable and they easily succumb to floods whenever they come.

“Government has seen it fit to come up with a human settlement policy, it will be the guiding framework to deal with some of these problems.

“The policy is still at draft stage but it is a positive development as far as risk management is concerned.

“We will be able to look at the durability of materials used to construct the homes,” said Mr Nkomo.

He said eight percent of population in rural areas vulnerable to flooding.

“The Government carried out a flood management study and discovered that eight percent of the country was vulnerable to flooding.

“Most areas which are prone to the was flooding are in Matabeleland South and North. There is also Kwekwe, Gokwe North and Gokwe South, the low lying areas of Masvingo, Chiredzi, Muzarabani, Mbire and Mt Darwin are now spotlights as a result of flooding,” he said.

Mr Nkomo said families that were affected by floods were being assisted.

“The families that were affected are being assisted by the Government and other partners.

“The solution is not relocation but we have to come up with good planning to ensure that the houses are safe in most affected areas.

“I am not sure exactly of the number of houses that were destroyed but we are looking at plus or minus 1 100,” he said.

@Precious Maphos