The Sunday Mail
Debra Matabvu —
Government will start allocating residential stands to civil servants in January 2017, with a Memorandum of Understanding scheduled to be signed this week.
A comprehensive list of prospective beneficiaries and their preferred suburbs has already been submitted to the Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Ministry. The initiative is part of the non-monetary incentives that the State has lined up to hedge its employees against high sustenance costs, including rentals.
Over 100 000 civil servants will benefit, with each stand being sold for US$4 per square metre and an additional US$1 being charged for on and off-site infrastructure.
Initially, the Apex Council — comprising all civil servant representative bodies — had grouped the home-owners according to provinces, but Government requested a district and township-based list for easier residential stand allocations. Now that that list has been compiled, authorities will proceed to parcel out stands countrywide.
Local Government Secretary Engineer George Mlilo told The Sunday Mail, “The first list did not show the specific areas that beneficiaries want. Therefore, we requested them to mention specific places rather than clustering them in provinces.
“We have the land to give to civil servants, but need to know exact places in order to identify and allocate the land. The process of identifying will be done in January 2017.
“We met (civil servant representatives) last Tuesday, and indicated that we need a comprehensive list from the Apex Council and non-Apex Council members.”
Apex Council president Mrs Cecilia Alexander said, “We took the Memorandum of Understanding (between us and Government) to our legal advisors, and have no issues with the document. We are ready to sign so that the real work can begin.”
But the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Assocation secretary-general Mr John Mlilo said, “As long as civil servants are paying for the stands, the issue of non-monetary incentives is still outstanding.
“Servicing residential stands is not based on square metres, there is need for clarity. And moreso, once we pay US$4 per square metre, which is being paid by every other citizen, the scheme loses its objective.”
Human resources consultant Mr Memory Nguwi said while the scheme is noble, it ceases to be non-monetary the moment beneficiaries are required to pay. “The fact that money is exchanging hands show that it ceases to be a non-monetary incentive. The incentive also becomes less attractive to those who already have houses or residential stands. It is good, though, since Government is taking care of the ease of transfer.”
Engineer Mlilo explained: “The money to be paid will cover on and off-site infrastructure as well as the intrinsic value, not the residential stand. Instead of getting a pay rise, civil servants are getting residential stands, this is a non-monetary incentive.”
Many properties sold by private sellers remain outside the reach of most civil servants.
