“When he died in January 2022, he left us with unfinished roads, burst sewers and broken promises,” says Nylon Gatsheni, a resident leader in Pelandaba West Phase 2 lamenting the death of a private land developer who allegedly left many residents in a ditch.
E.C.T Shonhiwa Property Developers, is one of several private land developers contracted to service residential stands in Bulawayo. The company owned by the late Edmund Campion Takawira Shonhiwa was allocated 91 stands in Pelandaba West suburb in 2006. However, the developer did not fully service the stands but was issued with a certificate of completion in 2021 .
A Compliance Certificate is issued when a land developer has provided services such as tarred roads, sewer reticulation, water supply and drainages to required quality standards.
Besides, without a Compliance Certificate, title deeds cannot be processed for individual stands. Private land developers need to be certified before they can hand over serviced stands to the Bulawayo City Council.
A Compliance Certificate issued on 22 September 2021 to E.C.T Shonhiwa Property Developers seen by CITE was signed by Sikhumbuzo Ncube, then Deputy Director of Engineering Services on 6 October 2022. Ncube was appointed Director of Engineering Services in April 2023.
The Compliance Certificate states that BCC was satisfied with the servicing of 91 stands under phase 2 with both sewer and water reticulation systems.
“…Has met requirements of condition 8 as stated in the Memorandum of Agreement signed on the 26th of May 2006 by satisfactorily demonstrating compliance with relevant technical standards in the following categories of work: water supply and sewer system,” read the Compliance Certificate.
“We Were Told Everything Was Ready”
E.C.T Shonhiwa Property Developers, sold residential stands in Pelandaba West in 2015, assuring buyers that the area would have paved roads, functional sewer systems and piped water. More than a decade later, residents say they are living with collapsing sewer lines, poor drainage and gravel roads that become muddy and impassable during the rainy season.
Different private land developers were contracted to service Pelandaba West suburb, but residents complain that water, sewer and road infrastructure was not fully installed. Residents were forced to pay for water to be connected to their homes.
Residents of Pelandaba West say they were deceived into believing their stands were fully serviced before they began construction.
Gatsheni, who also chairs Ward 18 residents under the Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA), recalls:
“The challenge we are facing began in 2015 when we started building here, we were told that the stands were fully serviced. We don’t know how Bulawayo City Council (BCC) approved the sale of stands before they were fully serviced.”
When we had settled, we discovered that there was no drainage system, when it rains water floods our houses,” he said.
“For us to be given green light to build, services such as roads, water should have been there, but as I am saying, when we came here, there were no water pipes until we took the matter to court, now there is sewer problems we don’t even know how the challenge will be fixed and there is no tarred roads,” he said.
He added that as residents leaders, their wish is for private land developers to fully service the area and put all facilities such as the road infrastructure , water pipes and sewer pipes before selling the stands so that residents don’t face service delivery challenges.
E.C.T Shonhiwa Property Developers said they are trying to resuscitate other businesses to raise money to finish the Pelandaba West project.
“We do not have funds because the estate of Edmund Campion Takawira Shonhiwa is not yet finalized, everything is still under the government. However, there is a project that we are trying to resuscitate like our mine, so once that has been finalized, we want to complete the Pelandaba project, drainage systems and the roads,” said Mark Shohniwa a grandson of the late Edmund Shonhiwa.
Shonhiwa said he has contacted one of his relatives with a plumbing company to assess the situation in Pelandaba West. He admitted that the sewers were an outstanding item the land developers needed to fix.
“We plead with the community of Pelandaba West to give us time because this Estate does not have money. We are working on our mine because we intend to keep the company alive because right now, we can simply walk away and say this was Edmund Shonhiwa’s project, he is gone, but it’s not going to help anyone, we want to maintain a good reputation and intend to keep the business alive.”
Shoniwa explained that the only payments he is aware of are those made for purchasing stands and water connections, which were paid to the developer before the project was handed over to the City Council.
The Environmental Management Report of 26 September 2025 indicates that E.C.T Shonhiwa Property Developers had completed sewer and water reticulation and had done a partial handover.
“This was private land that the owner had subdivided and intended to fully service the land before handing over to council. Unfortunately, the developer failed to fully service the said land and as a result some of the properties were inaccessible. Most of the roads were just bush cleared and no formal construction had been carried out,” read a confidential report.
Certified but work half done
Other private land developers accused of not completing the servicing of residential stands have also been issued with certificates of completion, meaning they met the conditions of the contract to service stands.
Residents in Bulawayo have questioned how private land developers were issued Compliance Certificates by the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) despite what they describe as incomplete and substandard infrastructure in their suburb.
Another private land developer, A.P. Glendinning Private Limited was allocated stands for servicing in Pelandaba West Phase 4. Residents complain that AP Glendenning did not complete the development of roads and installation of water and sewer systems.
“We have no tarred roads, when it is raining, we face a lot of challenges,” bemoaned Sakhile Tshuma, a residents leader in Pelandaba West. “There are no drainage systems, and the sewer system was not properly constructed, it constantly bursts.”
Tshuma moved into Pelandaba West in 2016, and her stand had no water connection. She and other residents had to pay for water connection to their stands.
Tshuma said they have engaged A.P. Glendinning Private Limited, with no joy. They say the private land developer told them the Pelandaba West Phase 4 project has been handed over to the local authority. The company has maintained that it completed its portion of the servicing of the stands.
Reached for a comment, a manager at A.P. Glendinning Private Limited, who identified himself as Paul Youngman said:
“When we do servicing of stands, it has to comply to BCC, after we do a partial handover where you are under maintenance for 12 months under city council and then once you have done your 12 months, city council will come back and inspect that everything is satisfactory and then they give you a handover certificate,” he said.
“Once the 12 months have lapsed and they come and inspect and they are satisfied, it is now handed over to the council. So, anything from that date is now in the council’s obligation to sort out.”
AP Glendinning Private Limited showed CITE copies of Certificate of Completion which were granted and signed in a phase approach.
In 2016, the developer completed the servicing of Pelandaba Wet phase 11 with road, water and sewer reticulation for stands 396 to 1434.
On 14 December 2017, the land developer received the certificate of completion for servicing of Pelandaba West phase 1 with roads, water and sewer reticulation from stand number 1339 to 1738.
“The maintenance period was from 24 November 2014 to 23 November 2015. The developer has successfully maintained the above service to conditions and specifications satisfactory to the Director of Engineering Services during this period. The infrastructure developed for the services mentioned above will from this day onwards be the responsibility of the City Council,” read the Certificate of Completion dated 14 December 2017.
In 2019, the developer completed the servicing of Pelandaba West with roads, water and sewer for stands 2 to 384.
The certificates were all signed by officials from the local authority.
However, residents say the quality of roads in Pelandaba West is poorer than in older suburbs, raising questions about the standards applied to recent private developments as on resident remarked “ This is a new suburb but now looks like an old suburb.”
Documents reviewed by CITE and interviews with residents suggest that BCC may have failed to enforce its own regulations as empowered by the Urban Councils Act (Chapter 29:15) to inspect and approve developments before issuing Compliance Certificates.
While E.C.T Shonhiwa Property Developers has a Compliance Certificate, residents under his phase indicated that they still don’t have title deeds as the project was partially handed over.
Developers Shift Responsibility
Hawkflight, another private land developer accused of delivering substandard work in Pelandaba West suburb was issued with a Compliance Certificate. However, contacted by CITE for comment, the Operations Manager at Hawkflight, Martin Moyo, said they could not show their Compliance Certificate because the Pelandaba West project was long done and the certificates are filed in their archives.
“We don’t have personnel who can go and dig the archives and look for those records, I cannot be asked to comment on what is happening, that is not my suburb at the moment and is not even under my supervision. I handed it over to the responsible authority. If there are any other problems the responsible authority should answer that,” he said.
“We don’t keep our files forever, at that time we had no such digital platform,” said Moyo, insisting that Hawkflight had completed its work and handed the project over.
“We are no longer responsible for maintenance of sewer and water lines. Any problems should be directed to the responsible authority,” said Moyo.
Council reports, however, note that Hawkflight was yet to submit all handover documentation to the city council for future maintenance despite claiming completion
“For the projects that were completed and handed over to Council, the maintenance is now the responsibility of the Engineering Services Department. The maintenance will now be carried out using the general maintenance now competing with other projects city wide,” read the minutes.
Red Flags
Bulawayo Ward 13 Councillor, Felix Madzana, confirmed that compliance certificates were issued to private land developers even though they had not installed roads, water and sewer lines in residential stands they were contracted to service. “When I asked why developments were accepted without tarred roads, storm drains and tower lights, I was told this was what had been agreed,” Madzana said in an interview with CITE.
“We need to ensure that the department of Engineering Services does proper supervision. We have roads which were done five years ago that look older than the roads done before independence. Even in some areas where we are commissioning stands, the roads that we see don’t meet standards of the second largest city in the country,” Cllr Madzana said, calling for strict supervision “so that we don’t carry the burden of substandard work which should be done by private developers.”
Claude Phuti, Programmes Manager for Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA), a community-based organisation advocating for residents’ rights, said Pelandaba West is one of several suburbs where residents are victims of incomplete servicing.
“We’ve received similar complaints from Magwegwe West, Pumula South, and others,” Phuti. “Some houses in Pelandaba West were even built on wetlands without inspection, and you now see them developing structural problems. Some are too close to each other. The system is failing residents.”
Council tightens vetting of private land developers
Reached for comment, the Bulawayo City Council confirmed that under the previous prepaid scheme, residents made payments in advance before a contractor was appointed to service the land.
“This arrangement adversely affected beneficiaries, particularly when the national currency transitioned from the United States Dollar to RTGS, resulting in significant value erosion of the funds paid. Consequently, residents were later required to make additional top-up payments to cover the short fall,” said BCC Corporate Communications Officer, Bongiwe Ngwenya.
She said in view of these past challenges, the current developer-led model ensures that land servicing is completed prior to stand allocation, “thereby protecting beneficiaries from financial loss and ensuring that only fully serviced stands are brought to the market.”
Ngwenya said the City has taken several measures against private land developers who fail to meet their contractual obligation and one such measure is the withholding of completion certificates and title processing until the developer meets all servicing and contractual requirements.
Meanwhile, she said the City is continuously monitoring all ongoing residential development projects to ensure that development progresses in line with approved layouts, servicing standards, designs and timelines.
Ngwenya admitted that most complaints from residents involve incomplete works rather than poor workmanship, adding that “the few cases of substandard works generally stem from projects implemented before 2009, when the City was affected by brain drain and reduced technical capacity.”
“In respect of incomplete works, residents have been requested to contribute top-up funds to facilitate completion of outstanding services, since funding for such projects is solely derived from the sale of stands,” she said.
According to Ngwenya, the BCC has introduced stricter vetting of land developers and performance-based contracts with penalties for non-compliance as well as regular inspections by city engineers.
“Collaboration between the Water and Sanitation and Works Services, Housing, Town Planning and Audit Departments has been enhanced to improve oversight and information sharing,” Ngwenya noted, emphasizing that the council was only approving land developers with proven technical capacity, financial stability and a track record of successful project delivery to undertake projects.
“The city has taken a number of measures against private land developers who fail to meet their contractual obligations,” Ngwenya said, adding that, “These Issuance of warning letters and notice of breach, cancellation of development permits in cases of persistent non-performance and utilization of performance bonds were applicable.”
She urged residents to report issues through ward offices and the City’s customer Contact Centre to enable early identification and correction of deficiencies.
“The City has established procedures for addressing complaints from residents regarding substandard work on services such as sewer, roads, and water infrastructure. When such complaints are received, the following steps are undertaken: Receipt and Logging of Complaints, Technical Assessment and Inspection, Engagement with the Developer or Contractor, Follow-Up and Verification and Enforcement Action (if necessary),” said Ngwenya.
Support CITE’s fearless, independent journalism. Your donation helps us amplify community voices, fight misinformation, and hold power to account. Help keep the truth alive. Donate today