Published by the government of Zimbabwe
4 October 2008
Harare — Zimbabwe will mark this year's World Habitat Day on Monday next week with a review of whether the policy of affording residential stands to people on the housing waiting lists has achieved its intended goal.
The commemorations will also be a chance to review Zimbabwe's building standards with a view of aligning them to the needs and aspirations of Zimbabweans.
The Minister of Local Government, Public Works and Urban Development Cde Ignatius Chombo yesterday said Government would meet key stakeholders including MPs, councillors, engineers, architects, housing co-operatives and quantity surveyors on Monday after the commemorations to discuss housing needs in Zimbabwe.
"We will evaluate the impact of giving the people residential stands so that they can build slowly on their own. We will also look at our policies and see whether they assist in affording residential stands," he said.
He said the assessment would proffer solutions to any loopholes that exist in the housing regulations and policies.
"We also want to review our building standards and make them more Zimbabwean. Our standards are more inclined to the British. We want to look at the regulatory framework and determine whether there should be some amendments that promote housing provision," he said.
Cde Chombo said there were more innovative and cheaper building standards that could be used.
He said the meeting will also address the issue of whether Zimbabwe should pursue densification as a cheaper model to provide water, sewer, roads and electricity.
Cde Chombo, Harare mayor Mr Muchadeyi Masunda and Harare Metropolitan Governor and Resident Minister Cde David Karimanzira will be among key speakers at the commemorations to be held at Town House.
Stakeholders will visit some housing projects in Harare.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The Herald. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
