CHITUNGWIZA Despite the deplorable conditions of hostels in this area, residents are glad to have a roof over their heads. Matapi flats in Mbare have soot-covered roofs, or plastic where the roofs have fallen through. There is no water, electricity or toilet facilities. (Pictured: In the years following Operation Murambatsvina, the government hasWe inherited this from my father who inherited it from his father, said a resident, Lazarus Chimusoro. He acknowledged that the hostels were not fit for habitation. The hostels are indeed horrible, its not the kind of place where I would like to raise my kid, however, I do not have much of a choice. At least I do not have to pay rent, which is now very expensive.
As a result of inheritance and high rates, the few rooms have been partitioned among families. An average of two families share the same roof, divided by threadbare curtains and dilapidated furniture. Most of the flat dwellers are unemployed.
We sell firewood here. Some are in the vending business, but most of them are prostitutes or thieves, said Ambuya Tasarira.
The young ladies at the hostels are not ashamed of their chosen profession.
I would not be alive had it not been for what I do during the night, I would have died from hunger. My family must eat and I will do what I have to do to ensure that my children have food on the table, said Theresa, a single mother.
Even though there are strides in the accommodation sector, there are thousands of Zimbabweans who live in sub-human conditions. Even though the state has acquired large tracts of land for housing purposes, development of these lands is usually slow, and constrained by lack of capital.
The Chitungwiza Municipality rolls out stands occasionally. The official price for a stand averages US$200, but only a few municipal employees and councillors have the opportunity to purchase them. They later sell them for a staggering US$2000 a stand.
The government must intervene so that stands are sold in a transparent manner which benefits everyone, its not fair for someone who lives outside the town to keep acquiring stands, said Gerald Chari who has been on the housing list since 1999.
Today Chari has given up hope of ever getting decent accommodation. Successive town leaderships have been accused of corruption and dishing out stands to themselves and their relatives.
Most stands are owned by individuals. Fredrick Mabamba, a Zanu (PF) Central Committee member and former deputy mayor of the sprawling town, owns vast acres of land which he sells at exorbitant prices.
The Zanu (PF) regimes vision of providing housing for all by 2000 failed abysmally. Now people are pinning their hope on the MDC to make good on its promises to provide decent accommodation for all.
Post published in: Politics