Beitbridge Town Council has this year allocated 1 600 residential stands to residents amid reports the local authority has a housing backlog of 9 000 units.
Council secretary Sipho Singo yesterday said the local authority hoped to clear the backlog within the next three years before it could start registering new applicants.
The backlog has been blamed on shortages of equipment, which has since been resolved after council acquired machinery late last year. “We have allocated 1 150 high-density, 300 medium-density and 150 low-density stands to people who were on the waiting list,” Singo said. He said most of the recipients had paid for the stands while a few were yet to settle their development levies.
“We are already opening roads and putting water and sewer infrastructure in the areas to enable residents to start constructing their houses with the needed infrastructure in place,” he said.
Singo said the local authority had already started surveying more land for housing stands that would be allocated next year.
“We have so far surveyed 2 000 high-density, 1 500 medium-density and 500 low-density stands,” he said.
“That means we have surveyed 4 000 stands in all. We want to clear the waiting list by next year and start registering new applicants.”
He said council was still looking for developers who can construct residential flats to ease the shortage of accommodation.
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The border town has a population of about 45 000 people.
Council has also serviced 200 industrial stands that are now available to interested investors.
