Bulawayo councillors warn housing shortage is pushing residents into land scams

The shortage of affordable residential stands in Bulawayo is leaving residents vulnerable to land barons and potentially fraudulent property deals, councillors have warned, with the concerns recorded in the council's latest Housing and Administration Monthly Report.

Ward 18 councillor Felix Madzana said the failure by council to provide affordable stands had pushed residents towards private land dealers, exposing them to the risk of losing their money. "Council has failed to provide affordable stands. The City's residents have ended up purchasing stands from land barons risking losing their money," he said.

Ward 10 councillor Khalazani Ndlovu called on the local authority to acquire machinery so it can service land for residential development and increase the supply of stands. Ward 11 councillor Susan Sithole raised concerns over social media reports that some residents had bought stands on land subdivided outside the city, saying the land had reportedly been used as collateral for a loan and that properties were subsequently attached after the owner failed to repay the debt.

Assistant Director of Housing and Community Services Zakeu Sibanda said the social media reports related to a settlement outside Bulawayo that falls under Umguza Rural District Council, and urged residents to conduct due diligence before buying stands. Acting Chamber Secretary Spekiwa Mugiya said council was also struggling to service residential land because of a shortage of equipment and the high cost of servicing stands, which has made it difficult to complete stands allocated through a pre-sale scheme run some years ago.

The debate points to a wider constraint in Zimbabwe's second-largest city, where a slow public land-servicing pipeline has left private, often unverified, subdivisions to absorb demand for housing stands.