THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has indicated that completion of Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle housing project will take up to 16 years from the initial five, owing to low financial input from the beneficiaries.
BY TALENT GUMPO
Council has slashed its monthly charges from $50 to $15 after most beneficiaries said they could not afford the high premiums.
According to latest council minutes, the Hlalani Kuhle housing project has an estimated cost of over $46 million, due to additional stands meant to cater for arising double allocations.
“The Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle Housing project, which is a self- financing scheme, seeks to service about 12 683 stands with sewer, water reticulation and roads at an estimated cost of $46 052 200,” council minutes read in part.
“There has been quite a substantial addition of stands in the area and raised the recorded number of 9 000 to 12 683-plus stands. It is anticipated that the project will probably go well beyond completion period of December 2017 previously calculated due to the low financial contributions from project beneficiaries, affecting projected cash-flows.”
Council added: “. . . over 70% of the beneficiaries are not up to date with their financial obligations, inadequate funding for the project due to meagre instalments, unwillingness to co-operate as well as lack of payment culture by beneficiaries, inaccessibility of project area due to road in bad condition and socio-economic hardships.”
Government handed over Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle housing project to council in March 2012, but the local authority has only managed to connect 6 000 of the 12 683 households in the area with water reticulation systems, while households with both water and sewer reticulation are just 1 007.
