Harare City Council, banks in housing deal

Harare City Council, banks in housing deal
Published: 04 September 2017
Harare City Council has partnered two local banks to develop residential stands for low-income earners around the city with an initial project targeting more than 1 200 stands.

The city entered into a Public Private Partnership with National Building Society and FBC Group (Pvt) Ltd for purposes of low-cost housing development and the banks will provide mortgage to homeseekers on the city's housing waiting list.

NBS will develop 333 stands while FBC will develop 858 stands.

Harare's housing and social development director, Mr Edmore Nhekairo told the Education, Health, Housing and Community Services and Licensing Committee that NBS had approached council with a view to partner it in several projects one of which was infrastructural development at St Martin's, Hatfield.

"The committee noted that infrastructural development on Phase 1 was supposed to be done internally by council through an interdepartmental land value addition team. Due to lack of adequate funding for the project, very little progress was effected on the ground apart from requisite paper work such as engineering drawings, bills of quantity and surveys," read the minutes.

"NBS had indicated that it had ready funding to carry out the project within expected time frames of council. NBS would service the residential and non-residential stands through the partnership, logistics of which would be catered for within the Memorandum of Agreement."

The bank is expected to complete the project within 18 months.

The committee resolved to recommend that council enters into a Memorandum of Agreement for Public Private Partnership with National Building Society for purposes of infrastructural development of 333 stands in St Martin's.

Mr Nhekairo told the same council that FBC had also approached council with an intention to partner the city in low cost housing development starting with a project in Kuwadzana.

The land in question has 858 stands ranging from 200 to 1 000 square metres.

"A preliminary meeting had already been conducted between officials from council and FBC. In the proposed partnership, FBC would provide funding for the project, which funds would cater for infrastructure development for both residential and non-residential stands," reads the minutes.

"The non-residential stands would be surrendered to council while FBC would further effect super structural development on the residential stands."

FBC would be required to commence and complete infrastructural and super structural development with 24 months.

Council resolved to recommend that the city enters into an agreement with FBC.
- the herald
Tags: Harare,

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