Housing and Social Amenities minister Giles Mutsekwa yesterday unveiled a new housing model built with polystyrene panels (commonly known as kaylite).
Report by Wonai Masvingise, Senior Reporter
The minister said the houses were cheaper and would go a long way in addressing the country’s housing backlog which now stands at over a million.
Addressing journalists in Harare yesterday, Mutsekwa said the ministry would soon adopt the new building technology of polystyrene panels produced by an Italian company, Schnell Construction System.
“The adoption of appropriate technology has been found to be one of the effective measures of increasing housing at affordable costs while at the same time addressing issues of environmental degradation,” Mutsekwa said.
“Zimbabwe, with an estimated housing backlog of 1 250 000 housing units, is not an exception. It is in recognition of this fact that I led a delegation of technical persons to Italy to assess a building technology for possible adoption in Zimbabwe.”
Mutsekwa made the announcement in the company of officials from the City of Harare, City of Bulawayo, the Scientific and Industrial Research and Development Centre and Standards Association of Zimbabwe.
