The Sunday Mail
For long in the shadows of the capital city Harare, the Norton local authority is moving to dump the dormitory town status that has dogged it for years and is yearning to grow in its right, drawing inspiration from the economic blueprint, Zim-Asset.
For the well heeled . . . Some of the houses that have already been built in Norton’s Galloway suburb as Government’s housing provision dream comes to fruition
Municipal status is not a far-fetched dream for Norton which lies 40km from Harare, as the local authority has set itself targets to achieve this in the next three years.
Upmarket housing provision, sports and recreational facilities, a state-of-the-art fire tender and a library are some of the things standing between the dormitory town and municipality town status.
To its credit, housing provision is on the up and the town has rolled its sleeves on an “affluent” suburb which is envisaged to rival the most well heeled residential localities in the country.
Located about 32km from the capital on the right side of the Harare-Bulawayo highway, Galloway Park has over 3 000 residential stands each measuring, on average 2 000 square metres, with some facing Darwendale Dam.
Indeed, a magnificent setting for the well heeled.
Spearheaded by private land developer, Zimbabwe Amalgamated Housing Association (Zaha), work on the new suburb which has so far gobbled close to US$5 million and is almost complete, waiting official commissioning on September 5.
“We have been in the wings of Harare for far too long. We want to develop our own local authority and provide infrastructure and services that can make Norton a town of choice,” Norton town council chairperson Precious Mufahove said.
“Our target is to develop into a fully fledged city by year 2018 and there are a number of targets that we have set ourselves to achieve before we can get municipality status.
“We have recorded progress in housing provision where we are working on such suburbs like Galloway Park in conjunction with private developer Zaha.
“It’s a suburb which we hope that when it is complete, it will compete with the most affluent suburbs in Harare,” said Mufahove.
Zaha said the new suburb will go a long way in decongesting the capital city which has seen a very sharp increase in residents against stagnant housing delivery.
Illegal settlements that have mushroomed in almost every town in the country, Zaha said, are a result of authorities’ failure to provide those in need with legal housing stands to build their homes, a situation they hope they will help address.
The final lap . . . Zaha workers dump gravel on the last outstanding road that is yet to be compacted before the suburb’s official commissioning on September 5
Most importantly, the developer says every Zimbabwean has a role to play in helping Government achieve the target of providing over 300 000 housing units across the country by the year 2018.
“What we are doing here is to demystify Zim-Asset. Most people, some of them very senior, think that Zim-Asset is a package that will come possible along the same lines as the constituency development fund that is given to Members of Parliament,” said Zaha director-general Killer Zivhu.
“The provision of housing and servicing of stands in the country has been tainted by what you call land barons and we are saying that is not right.
“What we want to see are clear deliverables that are there for everybody to see like is the case here. If you look at the road network we have done here, it ranks among the best in the country.
“Unlike your unscrupulous land barons who take people’s money with promises of delivering, everything is there for you to see here and water is gushing through taps,” said Zivhu.
Social amenities are key in
the developments of new suburbs and Zivhu said they have reserved space for two schools in Galloway, one of which is already under construction, and a state-of-the-art hospital whose standards should measure up to the affluence of the suburb.
While most owners are at different stages of developing their properties, the project will be officially commissioned on September 5.
