Zimbabwe is on course to meet a new target of one million houses by 2025 in line with the Second Republic's goal to ensure every Zimbabwean has decent shelter over their heads.
This comes as the Ministry of National Housing and Social Amenities has surpassed the initial target of 220 000 houses by 2025 as outlined in National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1).
Speaking to journalists during a post-Cabinet media briefing in Harare yesterday, National Housing and Social Amenities Minister Zhemu Soda said the attainment of the target was made possible through various initiatives from the Government, private sector and individuals.
"At the moment we are in the process of collating data given that there are many stakeholders that are participating in this space," he said.
"We have local authorities utilising devolution funds, individuals constructing their own houses, so we are working together to come up with the current status quo.
"But we are certain that the target of one million housing units will be achieved by 2025."
The national housing backlog remains a moving target owing to population growth being experienced and other factors contributing to the rising demand for housing.
"We acknowledged when we launched our National Human Settlements Policy in 2020 that the housing backlog was around two million housing units. This continues to be a moving target given that we have new families that are coming up and the population continues to grow.
"But the effort that we have made so far is to ensure that as we get to the end of the National Development Strategy 1 period, we would have achieved the one million housing units target, and obviously that is going to account for the deficit that we had initially estimated to be around two million housing units," said Minister Soda.
The initiative to ensure adequate housing for all is in line with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and an essential driver for achieving many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The UN SDG 11 advocates for access to improved housing with adequate basic services for all by the year 2030.
The goal pledges to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
The Second Republic's Vision 2030 buttresses the global sustainable development plan, as it seeks to promote an upper middle-income society by 2030.
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In his presentation to Cabinet, Minister Soda outlined the progress of various projects being implemented under the 100-day cycle programme.
These include the proposed Marondera flats housing project in Mashonaland East Province, which is now at 95 percent completion.
Other projects include housing projects in Lupane and Binga, which have already been completed.
In Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe (UMP), the construction of a waiting mothers' shelter at Mutawatawa is 90 percent complete while the proposed Beitbridge re-development project is now 71 percent complete.
While these projects are ongoing, Government has implemented more initiatives aimed at ensuring adequate housing for all in the spirit of leaving no place and no one behind.
In April last year, Government launched the Presidential Title Deeds Programme to secure property rights for homeowners in informal settlements and other conventional settlements that did not have title deeds.
There is a plan to issue an estimated 1,5 million title deeds countrywide.
Government has also facilitated for private sector involvement in housing development through creation of a robust and conducive legislative and policy framework, as well as providing land.
This has seen the launch of projects being spearheaded by private land developers, banks and building societies, insurance and provident funds, mining houses and other corporates that have employer-assisted housing schemes.
