Botswana commends Zim’s modern housing delivery strategies
ZIMBABWE and Botswana are learning from each other on ways of accelerating provision of decent modern housing, with Zimbabwe using new technologies to cut costs while building more houses and flats faster.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed a couple of years ago as part of the Binational Commission pact between the two countries meant to enhance cooperation in many areas.
Zimbabwe and Botswana enjoy cordial relations which vary from economic, political to social cooperation.
After a Zimbabwe delegation visited Botswana to see how that country was speeding up its building programme, and later adopting some of the measures, a delegation from Botswana headed by deputy permanent secretary in the Transport and Public Works Ministry Mr Bareng Malatsi is now visiting Zimbabwe.
He was impressed by new flats, where available land was fully used, and the private-public partnerships adopted to build the bulk of the needed housing.
The Government had collaborated with the private sector to achieve the set target of 220 000 new houses and flats by 2025 as part of the objective of the National Development Strategy 1.
Mr Malatsi commended Zimbabwe for the strategies to attain the set goals on housing delivery noting this was a clear demonstration by the Government to fulfil the constitutional right of the people in line with the basic needs requirements.
The visit was an eye opener as the team had learnt a lot to advance their own goals of delivering enough low-cost houses to the people of Botswana.
“The Government of Zimbabwe is doing very well in terms of coming up with master plans to ensure that its people have affordable and cheap houses, especially for both the low and medium income earners,” said Mr Malatsi.
“We are very excited and we have noted a lot in terms of the modernisation strategies you are doing as a nation through partnerships. We have learnt a lot from the way Zimbabwe is implementing strategies on ensuring housing delivery.
“From a small piece of land, you maximise it to construct many housing units on the same piece of land. We are here primarily for how to issue low-cost houses that we have seen here.”
The Zimbabwe Government is accelerating provision of decent modern accommodation to the people despite their social background in line, with President Mnangagwa’s commitment of living no one and no place behind.
Addressing the technical team in Harare yesterday, National Housing and Social Amenities Minister Daniel Garwe said Zimbabwe was poised to achieve the set target of 220 000 flats and houses by 2025 as part of the National Development Strategy 1.
The bulk of the new housing will be flats, making best use of limited land, keeping transport costs reasonable and cutting the actual cost of each unit.
Minister Garwe said the target was attainable as the Government had partnered corporates as a strategy to ensure a steady pace.
“Zimbabwe’s housing backlog stands at 2 million and has prompted us to come up with new technology to ensure speed delivery of the services,” he said. “Most projects you are seeing are a combination of public and public-private partnership in Zimbabwe.
“As a country we came to the realisation that the Government cannot go it alone in housing delivery and invited private sector and individuals particularly corporates to join the Government in the housing delivery through our economic blue print, the National Development Strategy1. The target that the Government had set was surpassed through this initiative and I’m happy for that.
“Our cooperation in the provision of sustainable affordable and functional housing followed a visit by the Zimbabwean technical team to Botswana early this year. Since then we have been collaborating in housing delivery as we strive to fulfil the hopes and aspirations of our people.”
As a reciprocity to the recommendations by the visiting delegation, Minister Garwe said the interaction was an eye opener to various issues as far as accommodation for the people was concerned as Botswana was also implementing a plethora of strategies to benefit the people.
“Let me emphasize that the visit by the Botswana delegation has given us an eagle eye view of the housing landscape in Botswana particularly on the Turn Key Programme, Destitute Land Programme, Self Help Housing Agency Programme and Housing Improvement Programme,” he said.
“All these are initiatives targeted in the echelons of the Botswana society to provide decent and affordable houses for all.”
Mr Malatsi was accompanied by other technocrats who included Mr Paar Frank, a property development manager, Mr Molebedi Khuduego, who is the deputy director as well as the principal state counsel, Ms Marilyn Rachaba and Ms Bena Tibe who is the assistant director, department of project and infrastructure planning.