Our city, our lives Issue 16 November 2014
Day in the life Our series continues with the life of a recyclables collector.
www.hararenews.co.zw
Bees in peril
On the run
The development of wetlands has been linked to the decline of this critical species.
Meet Synik
The sport for everybody features twice this month.
A multi-awardwinning hip hop genius.
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New houses, old plans The new Budiriro housing is a big step forward, but some analysts and residents question its direction.
Farai Dauramanzi & Harry Davies Dr Chombo and guests (left) touring the recently completed Budiriro houses (top).
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n 16 October, 2,000 houses built in Budiriro under the CABS housing scheme were handed over to Council by Dr Ignatius Chombo, Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing. The ceremony was part of the
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belated annual UN-Habitat World Habitat Day, celebrated on the first Monday of October in recognition of the basic right of all humanity to adequate shelter, and to encourage grassroots action towards eradicating poverty-level housing. This year’s theme was Voices From the Slums “giving voice to people who have lived or live in slums or other vulnerable urban contexts”. Harare’s housing backlog stands at an estimated 500,000 homes. The scheme aims to build 3,102 houses, a positive step forward and the first since 1997. Recently Harare has witnessed the sprouting of illegal land developments fuelled by the unavailability of affordable housing to accommodate our growing population (6–8% per annum). Dr Chombo explained that “the pressure created by the demand for housing land has resulted in instances where desperate homeseekers have been swindled of their hard-earned cash by unscrupulous land barons masquerading as land developers.” Town Clerk Dr Tendai Mahachi said that Harare is working hard to expedite the processing and Continued on page 2
Participatory budgeting a missed opportunity Freelance Contributors
T
he City of Harare has recently held meetings with residents at ward level to discuss the 2015 Budget. This is a commendable process on the face of it as it purports to include citizens in the formulation of the budget. The reality is somewhat different. ‘Consultations’ have been held for
many years but as the attendance at the meetings is lamentable and as no firm proposals were made, it can hardly be claimed that the consultations are genuine or useful. In some wards, fliers were not distributed to householders prior to the meeting and without a wider participation by residents the process seems fatally flawed. In Wards 8 and 10 for example,
less than 20 residents turned up, but no meaningful budgetary discussions were held – instead the participants took the opportunity to air grievances about pot holes, water, and other service delivery issues. Neither meeting produced documentation or firm proposals. Interestingly, Ward 8 councillor Chris Mbanga revealed a proposal to retain 10 to 20% of the ward’s
revenues within the ward to be spent by ‘an appointed committee’. With over 6,000 households plus an unknown number of commercial ratepayers, Ward 8 should be generating in excess of $500,000 a month in revenue from rates alone. However, only 35% of rates are being collected according to the Councillor, so the actual figure is much lower. In Ward 10, it was also proposed
that schools and council halls retain 10% of any income they generate from rentals. Sharon Magodyo, the community coordinator for Harare Residents Trust (HRT), said that the 10% retention will promote citizen participation and allow communities to plan and work on major issues that they need to be addressed in their wards, though expressed Continued on page 2