• • In February, the Mayor of Gwanda announced that he could not hand over certificates of occupation to beneficiaries of OGHK, as there are no sewer or water services; he estimated that it would cost around $30 billion unbudgeted (at February costs) to provide roads and services to the new suburb.56 The government announced in January that the much-vaunted phase two of OGHK which was originally supposed to result in 300,000 houses nationwide, will now consist of handing over a few thousand un-serviced stands and the total cost of building houses will lie with the recipients. In other words, this much- vaunted housing scheme is now simply a case of handing over small parcels of vacant, un-serviced land.57 Costs involved in being allocated a house or stand It was clear even during 2005 that the newly built homes were not intended to benefit the very poor. Local authorities countrywide made it known that beneficiaries of these houses would have to pay for services like any other resident. In January, the Bulawayo City Council announced that the cost of un-serviced stands would be $40 ($40,000) per square meter, or between $8 and $ 13 thousand (million) per stand depending on size. This is for a stand that has been measured and pegged, but has no sewerage or water, and no road system. Process to acquire an OGHK house:58 • Would-be house owners in Bulawayo first have to apply to get onto the official council housing lists, and have proof of this. • The form showing you are on the list has to be taken to the army officer in charge of OGHK at Cowdray Park suburb. • Here you pay a registration fee of Z$ 500 (500,000) and get another form which you then take to the council housing office in Luveve, a nearby suburb. • In Luveve, you pay a sum of Z$ 10 thousand (million) for the stand – around US$ 40. • Once you take occupation, you will buy the house at a rate varying from Z$ 1 thousand (million) to 5 thousand (million) per month, for an unspecified time. • In addition, the local authority will charge for service delivery – at some point in the future when there actually are services delivered! While this process may seem straight-forward and the amount affordable, those who have tried to follow this process have reported to the authors that it is totally corrupt: depending on who you are and whom you bribe, it is possible to by-pass the official route. On the other hand, if you do not know the devious way through, you are likely to sit on the housing list for another twenty years – as some already have. 56 With 1,200% inflation, costs more or less double monthly in Zimbabwe. The Standard, 8 January 2006: “Govt allocates incomplete houses”. The Chronicle, 9 January 2006: “City council sets price for stands”. The Chronicle, 19 January 2006: “Reconstruction programme resumes” – “Phase Two beneficiaries are developing stands at their own expense unlike phase one where the govt provided everything for construction.” The Chronicle, 31 January 2006: “More stands to be allocated in Cowdray Park”. The Chronicle, 9 February 2006: “700 houses allocated in Mat South” – “in the second phase, people will only be allocated residential stands and will be expected to use their own resources to develop them”. 58 Amounts here as reported in March 2006: these figures revise upwardly because of inflation regularly. 57 29