By Rex Mphisa
GOVERNMENT is concerned about civil servants accommodation at Beitbridge and in particular police who share rooms divided by curtains.
Addressing stakeholders at Beitbridge on Monday the Matabeleland South Minister of State For Provincial Affairs and Devolution said house rentals for civil servants are steep.
Efforts to provide them with houses should be stepped up, he said.
Nguluvhe was speaking after touring a long standing unfinished project of civil servants house opposite the dysfunctional former Express By Holiday Inn Hotel.
He said it is important to finish the project and house more civil servants.
Currently four duplex flats are being attended to each with a capacity to house two families.
“I am happy to see there is attention now being given to these houses which are an eyesore as you drive into Beitbridge. There is need to provide decent accommodation to civil servants who are faced with steep rentals charged in foreign currency. I know for certain police are poorly accommodated and in some cases share rooms divided by curtains,” he said.
“I also hope when the units are completed there will be transparency in the allocations,” said Nguluvhe.
He said his office will sink a borehole at the flats site to ensure there is seamless supply of water.
The Ministry of National Housing has received funding to complete four units of the flats whose construction started in in 2006.
In 2018 governmentvrevisited the project but abandoned it soon after President Emmerson Mnangagwa commissioned the “Yellow Houses” which were also part of the Beitbridge Redevelopment project.
He recently injected funds are from Legacy Projects funding allocated to Matabeleland South as hosts of the country’s 46th Independence celebrations.
Matabeleland South will this year host the Uhuru celebrations at Maphisa in Kezi.
Ngulvhe said the money allocated for the development of the venue will be shared by the province seven districts.
At the meeting he asked why Beitbridge Municipalty did not attend to a housing project meeting in their jurisdiction.
While all other departments and organisations were represented were was none from the Beitbridge municipality executives and policy makers.
The Municipality in Beitbridge is run by the leftist Citizens Coalition For Change.