Urban Infrastructure Services Experiences in Zimbabwe for low income settlements Eng.Fungai Matahwa Practical Action

1. Urban Infrastructure Services Experiences in Zimbabwe for low income settlements Eng.Fungai Matahwa Practical Action Southern Africa www.practicalaction.org No. 4 Ludlow Road, Newlands, P.O. Box 1744, Harare, Zimbabwe. Telephone: +263 4 776 631-3 Fax: +263 4 788 157 Mobile: +263 11 444 960 Email: fungaim@practicalactionzw.org. Skype address: fungaim2

2. PRACTICAL ACTION • Practical Action - formerly Intermediate Technology development Group (ITDG) • An international technology development organization with its head offices in the United Kingdom. • Founded in 1965 and has offices in Southern Africa, East Africa, Sudan, Latin America, Bangladesh, Nepal and South Asia. • Practical Action Southern Africa office based in Harare covers work in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique and Malawi

4. Our work focus on four key areas normally referred to as Programme aims • Reducing Vulnerability • Markets and livelihoods • Access to infrastructure Services • New technologies • AIM 1: Reducing vulnerability-help reduce the vulnerability of poor people affected by natural disasters, conflict and environmental degradation.  • AIM2: Making markets work for the poorWe help poor people to make a better living – by enabling producers to improve their production, processing and marketing.  • AIM3 Improving access to infrastructure servicesWe help poor communities gain access to basic services – water, sanitation, housing and electricity.  • AIM 4 New technologiesWe help poor communities respond to the challenges of new technologies, helping them to access effective technologies that can change lives forever.

5. Presentation theme • AIM 3 Access to infrastructure services :- Goal 2 • Poor people in slums or low income urban settlements enjoy a better living environment and income generating opportunities from accessing or providing infrastructure services. • Shelter, water, sanitation, energy and waste management services

6. Zimbabwe Waste management highlights • 2.5 million tonnes of both industrial and household waste is generated per annum • Collapse of a local governance system • urban waste collection rates dropped from at least 80% (mid 1990s) to as low as 30% 2008 in some large cities and small towns *despite a declining economy. • low waste collection levels have triggered widespread illegal open dumping and backyard incineration

7. Key lessons to share • Public health and hygiene training and awareness is key in dealing with the waste management problem • Value addition of the waste is vital for sustainability of the income generating groups • Giving up or sub contracting of services in the traditional sector occupied by LAs has been a challenge taking a cue from past experiences from the City of Harare • Working in an environments were there is no clear policy at national level will not bear meaningful results

8. Housing Experiences in Zimbabwe after OM • On 19 May 2005, with little or no warning, the Government of Zimbabwe embarked on an operation to “clean-up” its cities. • It was a “crash" operation known as “Operation Murambatsvina”, (OM) • resulted in the destruction of homes, business premises and vending sites. • It was estimated that some 700,000 people in cities across the country lost either their homes, their source of livelihood or both.

9. Factors leading to the clean up campaign • Economic context • Political context • Urbanization

10. Economic context In 1980 the informal economy - 10% of the labour force. The informal sector share of employment grew to 20% by1986/87, 27% by 1991 and an estimated 40% by 2004. The informal economy had effectively become the mainstay for the majority of the Zimbabweans.

11. The Political Factor • Zimbabwe had been ruled by one political party for 20 years before a real opposition could emerge • Against this backdrop of a deeply weakened economy the MDC emerged, against this background, as a formidable challenge to the ruling party. • Although ZANU-PF eventually won the 2000 parliamentary elections, Towns and cities emerged as strongholds of opposition to the ruling party and have since been viewed with suspicion by the government.

12. Legal context: Double standards • The national laws were inconsistent • Government policy statements leading to the rapid formation of backyard extensions from the mid 1990s now dubbed illegal • Local authorities recognizes theses form of structures and collects rates • Then the sudden application of the laws governing towns and cites under Operation Restore Order

13. Urbanization • High population growth rate • 30 – 40 people per 200m2 stand • Over loading of existing infrastructure • High incidents of disease outbreaks • High growth rate of illegal settlements

14. NGO JI Project • In 2006 Practical Action intervened in a relief housing provision project ‘The NGO joint Initiative “. • The NGO Joint initiative (JI) was an intervention conceptualised by seven NGOs with a wide spectrum of experience in addressing acute needs of the vulnerable groups in urban areas of Zimbabwe through an integrated programming soon after Operation Murambatsvina.( Care, CRS, Africare, Oxfam GB, Save the Children UK, Mercy Corps and Practical Action.

15. INTERGRATION OF NGO ACTIVITIES

16. Shelter having been greatly exacerbated by the Operation Murambatsvina was singled out as one of the major priority needs in five urban areas of Zimbabwe. • The shelter project’s objective was to restore dignity to the victims of Operation Murambatsvina by increasing descent habitable space. • The following strategies were employed to achieve the target; • Reduce cost of housing construction by adopting community based models and promoting the use of alternative low cost materials • Increase household income through shelter services • Foster partnerships with local authorities, and civic organisations in addressing victims immediate and long term challenges that include; • Advocacy for secure tenure • Child protection and gender mainstreaming • Disaster mitigation and,

17. Project Model • Community empowerment ,participation and training as an integral part of the approach. The project relied on tested approaches to community empowerment and these were:- • Training in participatory methodologies • Enterprise development in shelter related services • Community draughting and space optimisation

18. Shelter model in response to ORO

19. DEMONSTRATION OF TECHNOLOGIES 2000- 4000 SSBs per day Training of material production centered among women RUTASHI and Vimbayi secured orders to supply Chitungwiza municipality with building materials worth over Z$10 million (US$ 1923.00).

20. Demonstrating technologies • Egg layer cement block • 8000- 12000 cement block per day • Manual operated • On site production

21. Training in the construction of housing units Communities establish shelter construction groups Communities are trained in all the elements of construction standard houses Youth are then sent to vocational training centers to complement the practical experience

25. Community draughting • The justification in the demolition of structures during the clean-up operation in 2005 was the non compliance of the structures with the model building bylaws, • training endeavoured to enhance community’s appreciation of the building bylaws requirements in housing construction. • Participation of LAs enabled beneficiaries and residents at large to be aware of the regulatory framework on illegal developments and on development control mechanisms. • The process culminated in the production and adoption of model housing plans approved by the Las/ Municipalities and available for adaptation and uptake by the community.

26. Tenure Security • Working in these old suburbs beleaguered with strong colonial relics unearthed unanticipated varying tenure issues which many residents were not even aware of. Most residents moved into these suburbs under various housing schemes at independence in 1980 while some had been there earlier. • The tenure clarification process initially was not prioritised but progressively the need became more apparent as it emerged that in all the three sites majority of the beneficiaries were either children or grand children of deceased owners. • A community driven tenure clarification and awareness programme was embarked upon which benefited even those that were not direct beneficiaries of the housing project. • A number of tenure workshops were held with the beneficiaries resulting in the establishment of a section within LAs to deal with tenure clarification issues. • In 12 months 1100 cases tenure cases were clarified and 1620 stands were subsequently surveyed in retrospect to facilitate for the granting of title deeds. • Resource persons for this process came from local authority departments, Master of the High Court and Community courts, the Government Rent Board and Wills and Inheritance specialists.

27. Beneficiary contribution • Material – average of 34% beneficiary contribution • Ranged form 0 – 61% contribution • Labour – 20% reduction on the overall cost of construction • Costs 10% using community construction as opposed to 30% using conventional contractors

28. Project outputs to date • 488 three roomed houses constructed to date • 6120 people benefiting to date • 123 houses benefiting form rental income • 1265 residential stands allocated to the homeless • 1100 households with clarified and secure tenure • 38 material production enterprises established • 7 cement block producers • 6 SSBs producers • 4 MCR tiles producers • 13 stone crushers • 6 door carpentries • 2 welding centres

29. Project Experiences • Households that benefited from additional accommodation space were able to ease overcrowding while others began to realise income from rentals. • Meeting accommodation needs of poor communities alone without enhancing livelihoods options may lead to the beneficiaries opting to remain overcrowded while they rent out some space to raise income. • The contribution by residents in both materials and sweat equity raised the stakes and ensured the continued involvement in the initiative. If poor communities are provided with shell structures and capacity to build , they can complete their own units • The promotion of appropriate low cost technologies that utilise locally available materials in enterprise development helped to reduce the service and maintenance costs. • Nurturing partnerships with local authorities ensured buy- in which enabled smooth accelerated progress. Participation of local authorities made them appreciate community driven initiatives and as such became flexible to changing their practices appropriately to meet the communities • The project initiated the healing and restoration of trust by the communities on the local authorities following the Operation Murambatsvina

30. Thank you