Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle housing project to take 16 years to complete

Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has indicated that the completion of Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle housing project will take up to 16 years from the initial five, owing to low financial contributions from the beneficiaries.

BCC has slashed its monthly charges from $50 to $15 after most beneficiaries said they could not afford the monthly installments . According to latest council minutes the project will cost over $46 million, due to additional stands meant to cater for arising double allocations. Part of the minutes read:

The Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle Housing project, which is a self- financing scheme, seeks to service about 12 683 stands with sewer, water reticulation and roads at an estimated cost of $46 052 200. There has been quite a substantial addition of stands in the area and raised the recorded number of 9 000 to 12 683-plus stands. It is anticipated that the project will probably go well beyond completion period of December 2017 previously calculated due to the low financial contributions from project beneficiaries, affecting projected cash-flows.

Government handed over Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle housing project to council in March 2012.

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