|
Housing And Social Amenities Programmes
Housing and social amenities are among the basic necessities of life. Improved access to housing and social amenities improves the living standards of a household, and indeed of the whole community. Housing conditions are usually measured by assessing the quality of housing structures and overcrowding.
Basic social amenities that go with decent accommodation are the provision of clean water, toilet facilities as shown on the diagram below and fuel for domestic use. Disadvantaged communities in the rural areas, as a result of historical factors afore – mentioned, are characterised by poor housing structures, overcrowding’ inadequate and unsafe water supply, poor toilet facilities and shortage of fuel.
It is therefore necessary for this ministry to look at the state of housing and social amenities infrastructure in the rural areas in order to find solutions since 70% of our populace live in such unfortunate conditions .
A blair toilet and a protected well
Any assessment of poverty patterns in society is linked to the type of dwelling a people live in. The picture below shows a typical poverty associated dwelling in some parts of rural Zimbabwe. (Poverty Assessment Study Survey -2 report : 2003)
According to the PASS 1 (1995) there were huge differences between urban and rural areas in the types of accommodation used. Statistically, 85% of households living in traditional and mixed types of houses was found in communal areas, followed by small scale commercial farms / resettlement at 66%, 52% in large scale farms and 2% in the urban areas. With the successful implementation of the land reform programme which has resulted in more blacks taking over pieces of land the percentage is most likely to be skewed in favour of resettlement areas.
In all the eight [8] predominantly rural provinces of Mashonaland East ,West and Central ,Matabeleland North and South ,Midlands, Masvingo and Manicaland the majority of households live in traditional type of accommodation as shown below.
A typical traditional homestead in Murehwa District – Mash East
Essence of rural housing programs
While in urban areas they are battling with housing backlogs and slum dwellings, in rural areas they are focusing on improving the housing structures. The main type of dwelling units in the rural areas are old style family houses which are made of pole and dagga/bricks with thatched roofs. Such structures are considered to be sub- standard.
The use of traditional houses increase with poverty, while the use of modern structures decreases with poverty. With the advent of this ministry we are likely to see more housing units in rural areas built of durable and non- combustible materials.
The essence of rural housing programmes in communal, resettlement areas and growth points is to see rural houses matching the minimum standards of urban houses which require that:
- A house must be constructed of material that is durable and non-combustible.
- If thatch is used it must be treated.
- Ventilation, lighting and size of respective rooms should be of following specifications:
- A bedroom should be a minimum of 7 square metres
- A room should have 10% natural light
- Windows should be at least 10% of the floor area
An example of a standard 3 bedroomed house and a thatched kitchen
Whilst the thrust is to modernize the structures, all policy frameworks on housing state that the designer is free to use traditional aspects but must capture essential aspects of urban standards stated above. The Government of Zimbabwe, through the Ministry of Rural Housing and Social Amenities, recognizes the need to empower rural communities so that they can be able to put up such structures.
In its endeavor to empower and provide decent rural housing the ministry has come up with a model housing scheme comprising of a three bed roomed house, traditional round kitchen, granary, blair toilet and rubbish pit. It has managed to show case the model houses in all the provinces that are predominantly rural. The impact of the housing programmes is yet to be seen with the passage of time and expected increase in the allocation of resources from the fiscus and other development partners.
Toilet facilities
Toilets, besides being convenient, have a great bearing on the health status of the Zimbabwean rural communities. A properly constructed and used toilet reduces the transmission of diseases. Non use of toilets by rural people usually affect the whole community through the contamination of water sources, especially if the water sources are nit protected. Again the pre dominantly rural provinces fare badly in the provision of toilets.
A toilet is a major component of the model homesteads which were showcased in the provinces.
The rural housing delivery programmes therefore focus mainly on providing decent and affordable shelter to:
- A1 Farmers
- A2 Farmers
- Communal People
- Rural Public Servants and Others
To kick start the rural housing delivery programme the ministry embarked on constructing model homesteads for seven chiefs and a widow.
Honourable minister E.D Mnangagwa handing over complete homestead to chef mvutu
Currently we are working on constructing F14 houses to address accommodation problems for rural public servants. The programme will go a long way to curb rural to urban migration and to retain and attract skilled and qualified personnel in the rural areas.
The proceeds of the fund were also used to construct institutional accommodation for teachers at Ndorwe school in Manicaland, Hwaze school in Mashonaland West, Nharira school Mashonaland Central and Sikhanyiso school in Matabeleland North.
To boost the dwindling resources from the fiscus the ministry is forging partnerships
with financial and insurance institutions. To date the ministry has entered into memoranda with the Chinese government and locally, with the Infrastructural Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ) and the Agriculture Insurance Company (AICo).
On the other hand, there are social amenities programmes financed by Social Amenities fund which the ministry is undertaking and some which are lined up in the near future. A social amenity is a public good which improves or ensures comfort, convenience and enjoyment to people which, if present in the rural areas, would curb rural –urban migration. Examples of social amenities include facilities such as schools, boreholes ,clinics, community halls, blair toilets , recreation parks , playgrounds ,communication networks, beer halls ,vendor marts ,small roads ,small bridges, crèches ,office complexes etc.
Typical Rural Beer hall – Nyava Growth Point (Bindura District)
The above picture shows one of the most popular sources of entertainment in most rural areas of Zimbabwe. Though it has gained popularity with many rural dwellers some of the people in these areas feel that they are not catered for as they do not subscribe to the same idea of patronising beer halls. The ministry seeks to provide other social amenities like multi-purpose community centres, recreational facilities such as sports grounds, swimming pools and other amenities which are relevant to the various interests of rural communities.
Such facilities will help to keep youths away from abusing drugs and other unscrupulous activities as they are provided with other forms of entertainment. It may help in identifying and developing sporting talent amongst rural youths.
Social amenities are important in bridging the gap that exist in the economic and social development of rural and urban areas.
On the economic side of rural development, the social amenities development strategies ensure that rural areas are viable and favourable investment centres. This development calls for the rejuvenation of the growth point concept so as to create centres of attraction which will reduce transport costs to the markets and, on the other hand creating employment and industries in the rural areas. It is the ministry’s conviction that social development will result in the improvement of rural livelihoods, reduction of inequalities, improvement of entertainment and increase in literacy rates and health standards.
Social Amenities are then categorized into two types which are mainly social amenities for economic empowerment and social/community development. These two types of social amenities are shown below respectively:
1.SOCIAL AMENITIES FOR ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
SOCIAL AMENITY |
BENEFITS |
Factory shells |
The following activities take place in these facilities;
Benefits
|
Vendor marts / market stalls |
Products sold in these stalls
Benefits
|
A model vendor mart [majuru business centre- Goromonzi district] compared with commonly used vendor marts in rural Zimbabwe
Construction of model vendor marts by the ministry will benefit the rural populace in a number of ways. The paying of rates to the local councils would enable the responsible authorities to use the funds in developing and maintaining facilities which include refuse collection and provision of clean water and toilets. The modern vendor mart is more environmentally friendly because it allows controlled garbage collection, and unlike commonly used traditional vendor mart it does not lead to constant cutting down of trees for it to be constructed. click here to readmore...