• By the end of September, the official OGHK housing target for Bulawayo was said to be 2,000 by year-end, with earliest occupancy of those houses already built, set for 2006. In Matabeleland South at the end of August, 283 houses were at roof level in 8 different rural centres, out of 405 houses planned – this was the best outcome in Zimbabwe. Not a single house was ready for occupation. In Gwanda alone, the housing waiting list stands at 27,000 names ie houses built throughout the province represented 1% of housing needs in this one centre alone. 6. Update on “Operation GHK”: June 2006 52 A full year has now passed since first mention of OGHK. The last six months have seen one scandal after another affect the scheme, and it is apparent that the building has effectively dwindled to a halt nationwide with even the housing targets that should have been met by August 2005, still not even remotely met a year later in most parts of the country. In the four provinces of western Zimbabwe, a region where 3 million people live, fewer than 2,000 houses have been built; most of these are incomplete, and all are without basic services. Not one is fit for occupancy. This is a far cry from the 300,000 promised to the nation in June 2005…. The use of unskilled labour, failure to pay for services on time, failure to adhere to municipal by-laws – and then one scandal after another involving allocation of houses, have all confirmed the worst predictions about the scheme, which has indeed become a chaotic part of the ZANU PF patronage system. Scandals have included: • The collapse of twenty houses in Chinoyi after the first rains in November 2005. 53 • The announcement in Bulawayo that sewerage and reticulation pipes cannot be laid as OGHK construction sites are on bed rock - which cannot be blasted as the houses are already built.54 Bulawayo city council officials clarified in August 2006 that while blasting is indeed now impossible, it would be possible to lay sewerage pipes by using a jackhammer. However, this will be much more expensive, time consuming and labour intensive, and jackhammers use diesel which is hard to procure. In any event, there is no money to provide any sewerage services at this time. • By January, contractors countrywide were reported to be removing personnel and services from OGHK sites because of lack of payment.55 It was confirmed in August 2006, that when the money ran out in Bulawayo, there were still bills unpaid to contractors: any money allocated now to OGHK in Bulawayo, will have to first pay off the outstanding bills – with massive interest. • From January onwards, the government began allocating incomplete houses saying that the onus is on those who receive houses to finance their completion. 52 The authors concentrate on the four provinces in the west of Zimbabwe: Bulawayo, Matabeleland South and North, and the Midlands. Most other reports on Murambatsvina concentrate on Harare and its surrounds. 53 The Standard, 27 November 2005: “ Rains destroy ‘Garikai’ houses in Chinhoyi”. A construction expert says the construction teams “lack basic skills in mixing sand and cement”: soldiers, prisoners and youth militia are building the houses. 54 Zimbabwe Independent, 6 January 2006: “Operation Garikai hits snag”: “Under town planning by-laws servicing of stands should be done before construction starts but the govt ignored professional advice at the inception of the operation.” Houses have also not been electrified. 55 Ibid. 28