Beverly Bizeki
Masvingo City Council is set to establish a housing satellite office in Victoria Ranch at Vashandi Housing Cooperative, it has been established.
Minutes from the Health Housing and Environmental Services held on September 6, 2022 shows the request for establishing the office at Vashandi Housing Cooperative, a satellite office of Chesvingo Office was approved.
“Consideration was given to the report of the Acting Director of Housing and Social Services on the proposal to introduce a Housing Satellite office in Victoria Ranch at Vashandi Housing Cooperative to cater for records management for Victoria Ranch housing stock in preparation for incorporation into the Municipal Commonage in due course,” read the minutes.
Council also considered the need to computerize and decentralize the wait list registration process, a development that will ease travelling expenses as they are required to do some paperwork at Masvingo City Council.
Victoria Ranch, a sprawling suburb west of Masvingo, is set to be incorporated to the main city with sewerage reticulation services set to be offered by Masvingo city as plans are already underway to join the former to Mucheke Trunk Sewer, a project yet to be completed.
At one point the suburb was labeled ‘a baby with no parents’ after Masvingo city council and Masvingo Rural District Council (RDC) declined administrative responsibilities over the suburb that was built by private land barons connected to Zanu PF without proper procedures being followed.
Residents in the suburb faced a host of challenges among them no refuse collection, no proper sewerage infrastructure and poor road network with the dusty roads rarely maintained.
The barons were expected to pay a greater chunk of their proceeds from stand sales to desperate home seekers so that the city fathers could connect them to the sewer system.
