The Sunday Mail
Chief Reporter
VICE-President Emmerson Mnangagwa says 95 000 houses have been provided through co-operatives as the organisations complement the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio Economic Transformation strategy to ease the national housing backlog. In a speech read on his behalf by Minister of State in the Office of the Vice-President Mr Clifford Sibanda in Harare to mark International Co-operatives Day yesterday, VP Mnangagwa said housing co-operatives had success stories.
“… housing co-operatives positively feed into the broader Zim-Asset strategy by working to reduce the country’s housing backlog, currently estimated at about 1,2 million, and benefitting many downstream industries, including cement, transportation, storage and roof-sheet making,” he said.
VP Mnangangwa castigated land barons duping home seekers. “However, there are some amongst us who are still engaging in self-aggrandising and unorthodox means to get what they want. I want to warn such people to desist from doing so, as the long term of the law will surely catch up with you,” said the VP.
“I am informed that a number of housing co-operatives in Harare are undertaking land development starting from the initial stages of topographical survey, road drawings and clearance, sewage and water reticulation including tarmac construction.
“As Government, we fully support co-operative development in the country as witnessed by the creation of the Small and Medium Enterprises and Co-operative Development Ministry, with a clear mandate to create and maintain an enabling environment that promotes micro, small and medium enterprises and cooperative development. “To that end, the Co-operatives Act (Chapter 24:05) seeks to create sustainable and inclusive economic growth and empowerment for all citizens of the country, while at the same time, contributing to job creation.”
VP Mnangangwa said Zimbabwe could improve co-operatives by learning from countries like Kenya.
“… there is a lot that Zimbabwe can learn from Kenya, for example, whose co-operatives movement is rated as number one in Africa and seventh in the world according to the International Co-operative Alliance ratings. In Kenya for example, cooperatives have their own university, known as the Cooperative University College of Kenya, and operate big insurance companies and banks.”
SMEs and Co-operatives Development Minister Sithembiso Nyoni said: “There are over one billion people worldwide involved in co-operatives; so we are part of a formidable international community. I want to commend all the cooperatives for the work they are doing in earning a decent living while contributing to the economy of Zimbabwe.”
Minister Nyoni said some housing co-operatives were success stories envied in other countries.
“Zimbabwe is number one in Africa in terms of housing co-operatives. We have had people from Malawi, Uganda, South Africa and other countries coming here to emulate what we are doing in some of our successful housing co-operatives,” she said.
