The permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Nick Mangwana, has dismissed claims that the government has reneged on its pledge to issue thousands of title deeds to residents of Epworth, Harare, and other settlements across the country.
In a statement, Mangwana said in Epworth, the designs for water, sewage, and roads for Ward 7, Ward 6 Extension, and Glenwood Extension were completed by the consulting engineers.
He said the designs for the water treatment plant for the whole of Epworth have been completed, and so far, 1,000 deeds have been issued, and 18,000 offer letters are ready for issuance this June.
Mangwana added that the Epworth Bond Holding Management Company has been registered. Reads the statement:
Similar processes of surveying, infrastructure designs, and bond management company registrations are taking place in other areas such as Chitungwiza, Gimboki, and Cowdrey Park to ensure readiness for deed issuance.
In most of these areas, we are at the stage of issuing offer letters, which is what immediately precedes deed issuance.
Longstanding municipal tenants and government-enabled housing beneficiaries can immediately apply for and receive their title deeds.
Once the deed issuance starts, there is the capacity to issue at least 1,000 deeds a day from the Kwangu Trust Command Centre, which has state-of-the-art equipment and is staffed to meet these targets.
In a bid to curb cases of fraudulent title deeds, Govt will soon unveil digital title deeds.
There are 200,000 securitized papers for the digital title deeds. The securitized paper has high-security features and cannot be tampered with or replicated.
The system that processes the title deeds is built on blockchain technology, providing an additional layer of security.
CHITUNGWIZA:
55,000 deeds will be issued in Chitungwiza for long-standing municipal tenants.
SOUTHLEA
9,000 deeds will be issued in Southlea Park after the construction of services and the obtainment of a certificate of compliance.
Additionally, 21,000 deeds will be issued for the government-enabled housing program nationwide under the Ministry of Housing and Social Amenities.
This programme is set to benefit all informal settlements that are targeted to be regularized, all longstanding Municipality Tenants, and beneficiaries of Government enabled Housing under the Ministry of Housing and Social Amenities and Rural Business Growth Points.
On Wednesday, some members of the National Assembly asked Housing and Social Amenities Minister Zhemu Soda to explain the government’s position on the issuance of title deeds in urban areas.
Soda said that without proper servicing of these stands, the government cannot issue title deeds.
