BULAWAYO - The Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has appealed for partnerships with private and public partners to clear a housing backlog that stands at over 100 000.Bulawayo Mayor, Thaba Moyo, said the country’s near decade economic crisis resulted in the local authority failing to develop and provide housing for its residents, resulting in the waiting list ballooning to more than 100 000.
Moyo said the local authority had decided to seek partnership with local businesses to develop areas that were earmarked for residential development.
“We have not made any strides since the economic situation worsened a few years ago. All we had were a few in fills which are only a drop in the ocean as far as providing housing is concerned,” said the mayor.
“As a city we have decided to think PPC (private-public partnerships), as what we need is development of a vast area that can accommodate thousands of people as compared to infills.”
Moyo said the city council could only succeed in the provision of low-cost housing with the help of other stakeholders. He said that although the council used to work with private developers, it was necessary to seek new partners to speed up the process.
“We used to have private developers in the past who offered to develop pieces of land, but now what we need is to broaden the whole process and make sure it is embraced properly,” he said.
He said the council was working tirelessly to make sure the backlog did not continue to rise.
Post published in: News