Beatrice Tonhodzyi-Ngondo
Shelter is one of those basic needs that human beings have. Just like food and love, people cannot do without shelter. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is explicit in mentioning shelter under those all-important essentials that a person must have in their life.This may be the reason why we have seen the sprouting of all sorts of houses and structures in recent years as people try to fill that desperate need they have for shelter.
They may be going about it the wrong way by erecting homes in places that are not meant for housing as well as entering into deals with unscrupulous land developers and dealers, but what we should be looking at is why this is happening.
Why would someone go and erect some structure in some place where there is no water or road network?
I have been shocked at some of the homes that people have erected in Harare over the past few years.
I have also been shocked at how the city continues to extend, with shacks and improperly built structures also taking root. At times you wonder how people could live like that.
You ask yourself if anyone ever plans to live like that or if current circumstances have forced people into that culture where they can just put up some structure as long as there is an open space that can accommodate it and live there?
Anyone can tell you that owning a house in town today is a dream which may never come true. Those who own houses in cities are very relieved people. They can live in peace.
Just knowing that come month-end, one does not have to pay rent, brings with it a deep sense of relief because at the base of everyone’s thoughts and consciousness is the need to provide permanency and security to their family. There is absolutely no sense of security when a family is constantly being moved from place to place.
Everyone wants to be a home-owner. Of course, what differs is where one will be a home-owner and what type of home they would own but still everyone wants to own a home.
Owning a home, however, is no child’s play especially in Harare. Not only is the land expensive but it is also not very easy to acquire.
While the council has a housing waiting list, you have to wonder if city council stands are availed based on who is on the list.
The newspapers are also full of advertisements for stands but the prices of these stands, which now belong in the hands of land developers, banks and some wealthy people, are beyond the reach of many.
Even a well-educated and professional young couple with relatively well-paying jobs would find it tough to get a medium-density stand or house in this city without a loan.
This is because the way most Zimbabweans are living at the moment is from hand to mouth. There is hardly anything left over to save.
Thus the amounts asked for a medium-density stand (usually between US$12 000 and US$20 000), or low-density stands at around US$40 000 to US$60 000 is crazy, especially if one ever hopes to build.
The price of a finished house is even crazier, with a high-density core house priced at an upwards of US$25 000.
Who earns those kinds of amounts?
Who has access to those kinds of amounts? We were having a conversation about how ironic life is the other day in that executives who are high up there are the ones who get the high salaries, loans as well as collateral to get even more loans.
Thus, the same people who own more than one or two houses are the ones who own more while the one who needs a basic home to house their family stays in the cold. While mortgages have been available at some banks, the costs of servicing them are huge.
There is a recent article about how some Budiriro stands have not been taken up because people cannot afford the deposit required. The mortgage costs are huge. The amounts required as deposits automatically screen out the very people who require houses.
There truly is need to look into this comprehensively. Who are banks and land developers benefiting?
Zimbabwe was excited when Government announced its National Housing Programme during the last election and afterwards.
This is because people need housing urgently. However, we wonder if the housing will be delivered.
With the land going to the same unscrupulous land developers whose prices are to make them major profits and banks that are out to make as much as they can from a cash-hungry market, we have to wonder if it is those who need houses that will benefit.
It would be sad if the same fat cats continue to amass houses to rent them out to everyone else.
Yes, people can never be the same, but it becomes too much when the same small group of people own all the flats, stands in good places and numerous houses while Zimbabwe’s children mourn for housing or live in funny structures in unserviced and unapproved placed.
No person wants to live like a mouse.
The reason people are erecting shacks all over is because they are desperate. The reason why people are renting flats and houses they can barely afford is because they are desperate again.
Young people starting families need houses. Some who are almost ageing without houses, also need own homes. It needs to be clear what steps one needs to follow to get a house.
It is not enough for Government to just announce a rollout without taking people through the steps one has to take to get to that point of owning a home. It is, after all, a right and a need.
Let us make a difference by empowering Zimbabweans with homes.
btonhodzayi@gmail.com