Sakubva: Dilapidation is thy name
UP to this day, Rhoda Matagu (43) is still counting the losses she suffered after a wad of American dollar notes she had stashed under her bed mattress were gnawed by rodents that had turned her MacGregors house in Sakubva into their hunting ground.
Consequently, she was forced to dispose of her hard-earned money at only a third of its actual value at the hands of forex dealers.
At a block of houses adjacent to hers, it took the intervention of neighbours to get rid of an uninvited and unwanted guest – a cobra snake - that had slithered into a room through a door that has seen better days.
Such stories and many more are the muddles of daily living that residents in some sections of Sakubva – especially MacGregors, Blocks, Matida Hostels, NHB, OTS, Maonde, Chisamba Singles and Chimoio Flats, among others – have had to grapple with over the years.
The apartments are semi-detached. These areas are populous and it is estimated that nearly a quarter of Mutare’s population are based there. Some of the dwellings have become slums, with others deteriorating to deplorable conditions.
This is not surprising, though, given that Sakubva was the first high-density suburb to be established in the city.
Some people were reluctant to relocate elsewhere following the establishment of other suburbs like Dangamvura, Chikanga and Hobhouse, among others, and even after Operation Murambatsvina.
The national exercise was carried out in 2005 to clear the country’s urban areas of unplanned and informal settlements as well as illegal commercial activities.
Sakubva has, therefore, remained a bustling place always teeming with people and ever a hive of activity.
Significant portions in the suburb are still overpopulated as in some cases more than one family share a two-roomed apartment, yet the houses are aged in NHB.
In Maonde roofs are worn out and leaky. Walls have widening cracks and coats of paint are peeling off in McGregors.
At Matida Hostels, the rails supporting some structures are rusty and disintegrating.
Ordinarily, houses are sanctuaries whose shelter provide safety to people.
Safe, stable and affordable housing is a universally recognised human right enshrined in global human rights law and many countries’ constitutions.
Housing is a human right that is critical to a person’s family life, privacy, health, dignity and safety. It is a major component of the human right to an adequate standard of living.
However a survey conducted by The Manica Post has revealed that most houses in the aforementioned sections of Sakubva are in an appalling state.
Ms Sandra Chinokomwe (37) of NHB feels the local authority is badly letting them down.
“This is not about just having a roof over one’s head, the place has to be decent and safe. The Mutare City Council has not maintained these houses in a long time and the dilapidation continues. I have tried to cover the gaping cracks on my house’s walls and floors in vain. To be on the safe side, it has forced me to push the wardrobe against that wall so that my neighbour does not peep through as our houses are semi-detached,” she said, adding: “Three blocks away from ours, two families are sharing a single apartment and there is no privacy to talk about.”
A McGregors resident, Mr Fanuel Marimbita (52), described his dwellings as a death trap.
“I am in grave danger because of that thing,” he said as he nervously pointed at a termite-damaged chimney that was only being held together by some time worn mortar.
It showed signs of gradual crumbling over the years.
“My family does not feel safe because with the way that chimney is precariously hanging, it can fall anytime. Imagine if that were to happen while we are sleeping,” said Mr Marimbita.
Ms Natsai Chipepera of Matida Hostels implored Mutare City Council to fix their public toilets and apartments as a matter of urgency.
She said: “We have reported several cases of broken doors with no joy. It is either they take too long to attend to it or just ignore completely. We are forced to do makeshift maintenances as they insist we cannot carry out repairs on their property.”
Another resident, Mr Batsirai Manikai of Maonde fumed: “The city fathers are short-changing us. My account is paid up, yet their service delivery is atrociously poor. The $2 000 I am paying for tariffs every month and well in time does not correspond with what I am enjoying in their houses because the roof leaks. We certainly deserve better and are demanding it.”
United Mutare Residents and Ratepayers Trust (UMRRT) deputy director, Mr Edson Dube acknowledged that they have been inundated with residents’ concerns.
Mr Dube urged Mutare City Council to allocate more to the budget that goes towards refurbishing the infrastructure in affected areas until they find a viable solution.
“Some Council-owned residential properties in Sakubva have not been maintained for a while now. Many need sprucing up so that they remain decent and fit for a proper standard of living,” he said.
Mr Dube said the local authority should consider turning some of the properties under a home ownership arrangement.
He said: “They can come up with effective mechanisms to hand over some of the houses to some residents so that they take good care of them. Occupants with paid-up accounts can be considered first as beneficiaries. This may help in taking the responsibilities of maintaining the properties off the city fathers’ hands.”
This, he added, creates and ensures security of tenure to residents and also instils a sense of ownership and responsibility of the property among them.
Mr Dube said the local authority needs to move with the Sakubva Urban Renewal Project as a way of ameliorating the situation.
The project is part of the broader national initiative that seeks to turn local cities into smart, modernised metropolises. This is in line with Government’s Vision 2030.
The project is expected to take off during the first quarter of this year.
Mutare Mayor, Councillor Blessing Tandi, conceded that the nearly century-old rented accommodation in Sakubva has been deteriorating over the years and is now in bad shape.
“Most of those old houses were built around 1925 at the establishment of the township and have since outlived their lifespan. It then becomes a capital-intensive undertaking to try and renovate them because some of the material needed like the curved asbestos for McGregors houses are no longer being manufactured. Against that background, is becomes sustainable to renovate such structures,” he said.
Councillor Tandi attributed some of the squalid conditions to the increasing population that has since outgrown the suburb’s infrastructure.
Said Councillor Tandi: “Most of those houses cited, if you look closely, were meant for single occupants, but have since become family quarters and that has had a huge toll on the infrastructure.”
He added that the local authority is considering coming up with cost-effective tariffs that require communities’ buy-in to enable Council to sustain top-notch service delivery.
Residents, he said, need to play their part by paying rates and rentals at all times as the money goes towards funding various projects to improve the city’s infrastructure.
Councillor Tandi reiterated Mutare City Council’s commitment to seeing the Sakubva Urban Renewal Project coming to fruition.
“As a council, we want to transform Mutare and deliver 21st Century-compliant infrastructure. We are moving to implement some of the projects earmarked under Sakubva Urban Renewal so that we modernise and turn our city into a smart metropolis,” he said.