The government is targeting to provide decent accommodation to over a million citizens with a focus on eliminating illegal settlements and ensuring access to basic services like electricity, clean water and sanitation.

Speaking at the official ground breaking ceremony of popular cleric Emmanuel Makandiwa's United Family International Church (UFIC) housing project in Harare, Waterfalls, Wednesday, Deputy Minister of Local Government and Public Works Benjamin Kabikira said government is willing to have private partners on board to help develop serviced housing as part of efforts to curb illegal settlements.

Kabikira added that by 2030, over one million people would have benefited from these partnerships.

"We have many illegal settlements in Zimbabwe and it is also our wish that everyone must have a well-serviced home with electricity, roads, access to clean water and a sewer reticulation system.

"As government, we are taking many initiatives to provide accommodation to citizens and these projects by churches to push the same agenda towards developing accommodation for everyone, we really appreciate this as a government, and it is through these partnerships that we move the nation forward," he said.

"We are aiming to provide serviced stands to one million people by 2030, and we are certain we will exceed this target through public-private partnerships."

The housing scheme - Operation Nehemiah started in 2016 under UFIC and was designed to cater for those people who would ordinarily not afford to be homeowners and will benefit 6,000 beneficiaries.

These beneficiaries included members of the UFIC as well as non-members.

The land earmarked for an orphanage, church and residential stands had been illegally grabbed and sold to hundreds of families by suspected Zanu PF-linked land barons who were later evicted.