Nyanga wants town status

NYANGA Rural District Council has said it wants to be awarded town status as it has met all conditions that qualify it to be accorded the standing.

Chief executive officer Mr Zefania Jaravaza said it was disheartening to note that Nyanga was still operating as a rural area in an urban set-up when it had all the necessary facilities and infrastructure to run as a town.

Mr Jaravaza said his council was still waiting for Government’s decision since it had already submitted the necessary paperwork.

“We want Nyanga town to be declared a town,” he said.

“In fact, Nyanga is not really a town in terms of it being declared a town. It is still an urban settlement within a rural district council.”

Mr Jaravaza said Nyanga was “over qualified” to be declared a town although it was faced with changes in terms of development capabilities.

“One of the major challenges is shortage of land to expand,” he said. “We have, however, applied to the Central Government so that we get some land from the National Parks.

“As you know, you will not get land from the National Parks unless you swap or give them something in return. There is about 800 hectares in the Nyazemba area, which was given to council by the Lands Committee. The issue was that we had to agree with National Parks first.”

Mr Jaravaza said Nyanga RDC had already filed the paperwork needed to get the land from National Parks and was waiting for relevant authorities to give them the green light to develop the land for expansion.

“We have made the necessary paper work in terms of applications,” he said.

“We are waiting for the Minister of Lands, Minister of Environment and Minister of Local Government to agree. If we have that land then we’ll be in a position to say Nyanga is a town and if that remains as a challenge it will then remain a resort area.”

Mr Jaravaza bemoaned inaccessibility of most of resort areas in the town and suggested the development of an aerodrome in the area to make travelling to resorts easier for tourists.

He urged local investors who hailed from Nyanga to plough back into the community to ensure growth.