Harare property owners must upgrade sewer and wate...

Harare property owners must upgrade sewer and water systems before applying for extension and cluster house development permits: COH

Zim Now Writer

Harare Municipality’s Environment Management Committee chairperson Councilor Blessing Duma says the city has resolved that cluster house developers and those extending their houses should upgrade sewer and water systems before approval by Council.

“The permit has now got a condition that you must upgrade your sewer system and water system because we have seen that some of the blockages and the problems of water is because when people are doing the extension of their houses they are not upgrading the systems,” he said.

He said the council has decided to make sure this a compulsory requirement to ensure proper standards in developing properties that are in old settled areas.

Government has put into effect a densification policy which demands that developers of new settlements incorporate cluster homes and or apartments in their plans to ensure more houses per square meter.

But cluster houses are also becoming more common in older settlements as property owners seek to maximise on the housing backlog of around 2 million names on the waiting lists with the highest number in Harare.

“The reason for upgrading is to reduce pressure. Let us say that your place has one house and now you want five cluster houses it means that the sewer and water system designed for one house will be used for five houses hence it will be under pressure hence more problems and blockage is the common one,” he said.

Blocked sewers are common in high density areas with raw sewage flowing about. Harare is currently facing an increase in diarrhea cases with at seven recorded deaths. Authorities are on the alert for cholera after outbreaks in neighboring Malawi and Mozambique.