Thirty-nine families from the Millennium Housing Scheme in Emganwini Suburb in Bulawayo have gained ownership of their houses, according to the Ward 26 councillor, Mpumelelo Moyo.
The Millennium Housing Scheme was designed at the turn of the millennium to improve the livelihood of residents who were living in squalor at Sidojiwe Hostels.
After the intervention of donors who financed the whole project, the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) built the infrastructure and allocated them to residents on a rental basis.
However, since 2012 the occupants have petitioned council on the issue and staged repeated demonstrations demanding title deeds for the houses, as residents accused the BCC of defrauding them by demanding payment for properties, whose cost they argued was covered by donors, not the local authority.
In an interview with CITE, Councillor Moyo said the last council meeting resolved to grant ownership to 39 households.
“39 households out of 167 have been given ownership titles, with 128 remaining. Ownership comes after someone has paid money -towards purchasing to own the house. If someone feels they want ownership and are interested in paying, they approach the council which will tell them how much they need to pay to purchase the house,” he said, although he did not have the figures offhand.
“After paying, the ownership is transferred into their name. The council cannot transfer before a full payment has been made.”
Last year, the issue resurfaced when BCC granted a former ZPRA fighter, David Moyo, popularly known as Sharp Shoot, with a Certificate of Occupation after a well-wisher renovated his house.
The Moyo family was said to be the first to get a Certificate of Occupancy for the house.
“These houses were built after one of the councillors, Margaret Sibanda, found a donor and built these houses, removing people from eSidojiwe Flats. The council did not award anyone title deeds and the only family to have received a certificate of occupation at Millennium is Moyo. The reason is that the council is claiming to own these houses yet residents were given the houses by donors,” said Elifas Mashaba, a former Zanu-PF parliamentary candidate for Nketa-Emganwini and now a central committee member.
Mashaba stated that in 2018, BCC attempted to repossess the houses from residents by issuing eviction notices through its lawyers, but that was blocked by Minister of Local Government, July Moyo.
“Some elderly women who are residents here brought the issue and we met with minister Moyo over the matter. Moyo called the Town Clerk to stop the nonsense and asked the council to prove they built these houses but have been unable to prove that. If residents owe rates, they must pay but to say the houses belong to the council is wrong and is causing a dispute here at Millenium,” he claimed, noting that every Millenium resident must receive a certificate of occupation.
Mashaba also alleged there were about 67 empty stands that were not built “because the bricks and equipment were taken by council staff and progress stopped up to date.”
About the suspected theft of bricks from the empty stands, the Ward 26 councillor stated that he would have to investigate those charges.
“I will have to find out because this may have been before I joined the council but I am wondering how someone can claim an empty space as theirs. It doesn’t sound right. It is different from someone claiming something was taken from their house but a stand I don’t know,” Moyo said.
“How can someone who has not yet been allocated a house comment on that because on what grounds are they claiming that but I will find out.”
In October 2012, dozens of residents from the Millenium Housing Scheme besieged Nketa Housing Offices demanding title deeds for the houses and protested the monthly rentals they were paying.
During the demonstration, they left letters detailing their requests to then-Bulawayo Mayor Councillor Thaba Moyo, then-Town Clerk Middleton Nyoni, and then Director of Housing and Community Services, Isaiah Magagula.
In 2014, BCC claimed it would give in to their demands to transfer ownership of the properties, as the mayor at the time, Councillor Martin Moyo, assured Emganwini villagers that council had finally decided to let them own the houses.
The mayor, at that time, stated the subject was discussed in council where a motion was passed, while the finance department was working on estimating the value of the properties and would inform residents how much to pay to council before purchasing the houses.
