Midlands Correspondent
GWERU – For over eleven years, thousands of hopeful homeowners in Gweru have been waiting in vain for the delivery of promised residential stands in the Mkoba 21 housing project, a delay that has sparked outrage and despair among beneficiaries, many of whom are elderly council workers.
Mkoba South legislator, John Kuka, brought the issue to the forefront during a recent parliamentary question session, highlighting the human cost of the protracted stall. He revealed that many of the original beneficiaries, predominantly council employees, are now dying or retiring without ever having the chance to build their homes.
“We have a problem in Gweru regarding the Mkoba 21 stands,” Kuka stated.
“It’s now 11 years and beneficiaries are yet to start building houses. Our major challenge is that these stands mostly belong to council workers who are dying without benefitting from this housing project”.
The project, initiated in 2014, was meant to alleviate the city’s critical housing backlog, which has since ballooned from 30,000 to nearly 40,000 applicants. Three developers—CASAS, Wackdrive, and Sheasham Investments—were contracted to service the stands.
A Tangle of Challenges
The reasons for the delay are multifaceted. Minister of Local Government, Daniel Garwe, acknowledged that economic challenges and inflation have played a significant role, hampering the developers’ capacity to work.
However, investigations have uncovered a deeper web of complications. A special committee probing the project found evidence of alleged irregularities, including the illegal sale of land, the appointment of a project officer without a council resolution, and the absence of mandatory site meetings.
A critical bottleneck has been the failure to obtain Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) certificates from the Environmental Management Agency (EMA). For years, this regulatory hurdle prevented any servicing work from commencing. While Sheasham Investments has now secured its EIA and begun initial work, the other developers have lagged behind.
Further complicating matters, it was discovered that the land allocated to Sheasham had already been sold by the council. This forced the local authority to compensate the developer with stands in the Gwapa area, which itself is stalled awaiting an EIA due to its proximity to the Woodlands dumpsite, a relocation project estimated to cost USD $3 million.
A Glimmer of Hope and Official Response
Despite the bleak history, there are recent signs of movement. Sheasham Investments has announced that work has begun at both Mkoba 21 and Randolph Phase 1, with a 24-month completion target. Furthermore, the Gweru City Council has announced that 700 stands in Mkoba 21 are now ready for construction, with some owners already building.
In response to the parliamentary pressure, Minister Garwe tasked MP Kuka to encourage frustrated beneficiaries to formally lodge written complaints with the ministry.
“We therefore task you to explain to council workers that if there is a delay, they should write to the ministry so that we summon council and also the developers to come and explain what is happening,” Garwe said.
A Community in Distress
For the beneficiaries, the delay has been a source of immense financial and emotional strain. Cornilia Selipiwe of the Gweru Residents and Ratepayers Association described the situation as a “betrayal,” urging collective action to hold the council accountable.
The sentiment is echoed by residents like Rogers Pote, who lamented the loss of life and retirement dreams.
“We are still in shock following this tragedy… This is a huge loss,” he said, a feeling shared by many who invested their life savings into a promise that remains unfulfilled after more than a decade.
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