MDC-T councillor for Bulawayo’s ward 6, Jenniffer Bent, has applied to the local authority seeking land to set up farming projects for people living with HIV and Aids in her area.
Bent told NewsDay over the weekend that the project would help the poor and vulnerable members in her ward to grow their own foodstuffs.
The area covers low-density suburbs of Bellevue, Newton West, Barham Green, Montrose and Belmont, among others .
“Support groups do not have the money to pay rentals of land from the local authority. None of the members of the support group work and some of them are too sick to go to work,” she said.
“In my ward there is no provision for urban agriculture like in the western (high-density) suburbs because people have a wrong conception that people in the eastern suburbs are doing well than in the western. A survey really needs to be carried out on this.”
According to a recent council report, the local authority had approved the plan on condition the ward would be required to pay $30 monthly rental for the land.
Part of the report said: “The surveyor had suggested a non-title survey cost of $286 for each stand and the council had resolved that Ward 6 pay a monthly rental of $30 and there is a borehole already on site which would be a source of water.
“The lease shall be for an initial period of three years subject to review at the pleasure of council.”
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In the same report, ward 19 councillor Clyton Zana is quoted as opposed to the idea of charging rentals, saying that would overburden the intended beneficiaries.
“Who will be paying for the people living with HIV and Aids?” he asked. “We want to help them, the amount of money being charged might seem to be small but to sick people, it might be a big amount.”
