. . . Company wants to pay US$ 0.40 per square meter instead of US$ 4 offered by council
…Council likely to lose US$5m
TellZim Reporter
MASVINGO – Residents in Masvingo are upset with the recent resolution made by council to offer SIMBI Steel Makers Company about 125 hectares (ha) of land on top of the 65 ha the company already has along the Mashava-Bulawayo highway.
The residents are not only fretting about the big size of the piece of land in question, but also the fact that prices involved are way below the commercial rates other companies or individuals are being charged by council.
Council offered the land at a cost of US$ 4 per square meter before the company wrote to the city fathers requesting to pay US$ 0.40 per square meter. If SIMBI successfully bargains, then council is likely to lose around US$ 5 million which it is supposed to get if the land is sold at US$ 4 per square meter. The deal will also see SIMBI acquiring a total of 190 ha, making it probably the only company with such a huge industrial area in Masvingo.
Masvingo United Residents and Ratepayers Alliance (MURRA) director Anoziva Muguti said as residents they welcome development but there should be fairness and reasonability when council parcels out land.
“As residents we are not happy by the way council want to handle this 125 ha land deal with SIMBI Steel Makers at such a low price. We welcome investment but cannot accept that land be given to potential investors for a song.
“Council should use commercial rates it uses for other companies or individuals otherwise we would be left thinking that someone within council is benefiting from such a deal,” said Muguti.
Council initially rejected an application by SIMBI on the basis that the land demanded was too big and also the company had not fully developed the 65 ha it already has – to at least 70 percent which would then make it legible to apply for land extension.
Sources at Masvingo city council revealed to TellZim News that councillors have been consistently declining to offer the land but along the way, four councillors then suddenly changed and started pushing for the approval of the deal.
“The application was initially rejected; all councillors were against the deal but along the way four councillors suddenly changed and were for it. Now the issue is the company wants the price reduced from US$ 4 to US$ 0.40 and some councillors are saying we cannot give such a big piece of land at a giveaway price,” said the source.
SIMBI Group Company Secretary Louis Karongoma confirmed the deal but declined to shed more light on the price saying they are still negotiating with council.
“I can confirm the offer but I cannot comment on the cost because we are still negotiating with council,” said Karongoma. Four councillors, Sengerayi Manyanga (Ward 10), Selina Maridza (Ward 1), Wellington Mahwende (Ward 6) and Against Chiteme Ward 8)aresaid to have pushed for the approval of the land deal. It has remained a closed secret how the four councillors suddenly changed their initial position and wanted SIMBI to be offered 125ha on top of the over 60ha it already has. Manyanga confirmed that they pushed the deal before the new CCC councillors were in office.
“This is our deal; we concluded it before the CCC councillors were elected,” said Manyanga.
None of the other councillors were however at liberty to explain why they then changed their initial decision.
Masvingo City Mayor Collen Maboke confirmed the development saying council will not be swayed into charging less than the US$ 4 per square meter it offered to SIMBI.
“We offered them 125 ha at a cost of US$ 4 per square meter, so if they are interested to acquire the piece of land they have to make payments. They negotiated for discount and they want to pay US$ 0.40 but that was declined so our resolution still stands,” said Maboke.
Masvingo City Council Town Clerk Engineer Edward Mukaratirwa said residents should not worry much since it is not a done deal yet. Mukaratirwa said they are in the process of engaging two more evaluators; one from the Ministry of Local Government and an independent so that they compare the cost with the one they used that was done by a local real estate company.
“I want to assure residents that council will not give that land for a song. We are engaging two more evaluators because we feel the one who gave us the US$ 4 per square meter might have undervalued the land in question. SIMBI has written to us requesting to pay US$ 0.40 and that was rejected by the councillors,” said Engineer Mukaratirwa.
However, Karongoma strongly believe that the massive projects they want to undertake, if the land deal is concluded, will change the face of Masvingo as well as creating employment.
“We want to set up an integrated plant that will convert raw materials into real steel products. There will also be a cement plant, oxygen plant, water treatment plant and a 43 megawatt power plant and this is the major reason we want big piece of land,” said Karongoma.
Asked further why they did not develop the 65 ha to the expected level before they ask for land extension, he said they were affected by various issues then but now the environment is so enabling and they have since acquired all the equipment that is needed for the projects they want to implement.
“We were affected by the micro-economic environment then but now the environment is very enabling and all the equipment for this project were delivered last year but is lying idle because there is no land. The project will be implemented in phases, but some of the phases are interwoven hence the need for more land.
“When complete, the project will employ over 2000 people, produce finished products such as wire for fencing, nails and other steel products which the country is currently importing. The project will also produce at least 300 000 tons of steel per annum; so these are some of the benefits this project will bring to the city of Masvingo as well as well as generating foreign currency for the country,” Karongoma added.
The issue of SIMBI land deal has divided the city fathers as there are some who allegedly want the company to be given the piece of land even for a song, and some councillors are alleged to be dragging the name of the Minister of Local Government July Moyo in the deal in an attempt to silence those who are against the idea.
Some reliable sources revealed to TellZim News that at one point Maboke recused himself in one of the meetings after a heated argument with fellow councillors who were for the deal.
What has left residents with more questions than answers is the sudden turn by some councillors who were initially against the parcelling of this piece of land to SIMBI as they initially passed a resolution to that effect, raising suspicions of underhanded deals between them and the company.