By Correspondent
Over 600 Garikai Housing Scheme families in Masvingo are still living without any ablution facilities over 20 years after the project was launched.
Recently Masvingo City Council revealed that the building of a sewage system isn’t yet in the pipeline.
Masvingo Mayor Alec Tabe told Open Council they don’t have money for such a project.
“We are aware of the situation at that settlement.
“However, at the moment council has no money to have sewer and water connected for the residents.
“We are not in a hurry.
Instead, Tabe said they were looking forward to government intervening.
“Maybe that’s when we can have the area connected, because that was their housing scheme ” he said.
The housing scheme was indeed hastily commissioned by the government to appease victims of Operation Murambatsvina.
However, previously government has revealed that it handed over the project to Councils.
The Housing Ministry’s Acting Chief Director, Nelson Kuwanda said the project was handed over to councils around 2009.
“The cabinet said the programme, as an emergency should wind up and revert to local authorities.
“We were working with the military and other government departments to provide that space as an emergency,” he said.
Murambatsvina, officially known as Operation Restore Order, was a large-scale campaign to mushrooming slums across the country.
According to United Nations estimates at least 700,000 people lost their homes or livelihoods.
However, the government has failed to follow-up with the requisite facilities for the residents.
Two decades on, beneficiaries of the scheme still share one community water point and still use Blair toilets.
