Melinda Kusemachibi
Masvingo City Council is moving to consider incorporating Victoria Ranch Housing Scheme in rates collection in its bid to generate revenue that will enable the completion of projects that will benefit the suburb’s residents.
This was revealed in a Public Works and Planning Committee meeting held on May 9 2022 with council expressing concern over the sprawling suburb’s potential revenue.
“Concern was raised that council should put in place mechanisms of collecting revenue from the beneficiaries of Victoria Ranch Housing Scheme. It was noted that the beneficiaries of the housing Scheme would require services from City of Masvingo, hence they should contribute towards infrastructural development projects in the city, since the scheme would be incorporated into the municipal area in the future,” read part of the meeting’s minutes.
The minutes also revealed that Town Clerk Engineer Edward Mukaratirwa ordered the issue to be included in a special meeting to explore it.
“The Town Clerk advised that the issue to do with Victoria Ranch Housing Scheme required a special meeting to explore it. The matter was referred to the special meeting of the Finance and General Purposes Committee for consideration,” added part of the minutes.
Council as well recommended that the Acting Finance Director be instructed to refer the possibility of collecting revenue from the beneficiaries of Victoria Ranch Housing Scheme.
“That the Acting Finance Director be instructed to refer the feasibility of collecting revenue from the beneficiaries of Victoria Ranch Housing Scheme, to the Finance and General Purposes Committee for consideration,” the minutes read.
The suburb is set to benefit from the legacy Mucheke Trunk Sewer project once it is completed as their sewer reticulation system would be connected to it.
Victoria Ranch is in Masvingo Rural District Council (RDC) ward 7 but Masvingo city council monitored the construction of infrastructure in the area.
For the past years Victoria Ranch residents rely on a few boreholes dotted around the area and residents are blaming Masvingo City Council for water shortages, lack of refuse collection, lack of sewer, and poor road infrastructure.
There are no health centers in Victoria Ranch, thus forcing residents to walk long distances to get medical attention.
The city has always maintained that land barons, most of whom have very close connections to the ruling Zanu PF party, grabbed huge chunks of land on the peripheries of the city and sold residential stands should be held accountable and made to provide optimum services.
The area had about 16 land baron companies that refer to themselves as ‘land developers’ but have barely developed the area besides allowing people to build their houses even directly below high voltage power lines and very close to the city’s dump site.
Some of the land barons were in the previous years subjected to serious questioning during the Justice Tendai Uchena-led Commission of Inquiry into the Sale of Land in and Around Urban Areas since 2005.
