Bulawayo’s Magwegwe West suburb risks sliding into an informal settlement after dozens of frustrated home seekers began erecting makeshift shelters on unserviced land, nearly a decade after purchasing residential stands.
The Bulawayo City Council (BCC) says it cannot stop the construction of temporary structures because the site remains under the control of a contractor embroiled in a long-running legal dispute with the local authority.
The residents, who bought the stands in January 2016, accuse the council of neglect and dishonesty, saying repeated assurances about progress have yielded no results while their lives “fall apart”.
Last week, scores of beneficiaries moved onto the undeveloped land, saying they could no longer wait for basic services that were promised years ago.
Responding to questions, BCC Corporate Communications Manager Nesisa Mpofu said the council is aware that beneficiaries have begun occupying the land, but insisted the municipality is legally limited in what it can do.
“Until the arbitration process has been concluded and the servicing works completed, the site remains under the contractor’s control, thereby limiting Council’s ability to regulate such construction activities,” Mpofu said.
She stressed that makeshift structures remain illegal, and that the contractor would be engaged through legal teams involved in the arbitration.
Mpofu said delays stem from an ongoing legal dispute between the council and the contractor, adding that the arbitration process restricts any further action by the municipality.
“Notwithstanding these constraints, Council has actively engaged beneficiaries to explore practical solutions, such as agreed top-ups, to enable the completion of servicing works. These efforts seek to mitigate the impact on beneficiaries while ensuring continued regulatory oversight and preventing the emergence of informal settlements,” she said.
She added that council cannot comment in detail on the matter to “preserve the integrity of the proceedings” and appealed to all parties to allow the arbitration to run its course.
To prevent Magwegwe West from degenerating into an unregulated settlement, Mpofu said the council would continue updating residents on the arbitration’s progress. Both the contractor and council have submitted their positions to the arbitrator, and neither party can influence how soon the process is concluded.
Once arbitration is finalised, servicing works will resume, starting with water and sewer reticulation, followed by stormwater drainage and road construction to gravel standard.
“Only upon completion of these essential services will beneficiaries be permitted to occupy and commence developing their stands,” Mpofu said.
She acknowledged the emotional and financial strain faced by Magwegwe West residents and others affected by incomplete housing projects citywide.
She said council has since revised its servicing policy, abandoning the prepaid model that left residents vulnerable when the currency shifted from the US dollar to the RTGS dollar, eroding prepaid funds and forcing additional top-ups.
“Learning from these past challenges, the current developer-led model ensures that land servicing is completed prior to stand allocation, thereby protecting beneficiaries from financial loss,” she said.
With agreed top-ups, she added, the council will use internal teams and hired equipment to complete the remaining works at a significantly reduced cost.
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