CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the problem

Bindura town is situated 89km North-East of Harare on the main road to Mt Darwin. The
town lies in the ecological region 2 and is the provincial capital of Mashonaland Central
Province. It is surrounded by rich Nickel and Gold mining operations and a well-developed
agricultural farming. It has excellent communication systems with links to all major cities by
road, rail and telephone. The discovery of gold and other minerals in 1890 saw European
settlers invading the area. The Prince of Wales Mine was pegged in 1890, followed by the
ASP blocks in 1896.Mining on the Kimberly Reefs began in 1901 and by 1912 the Hay mine
was opened. 1913 saw the establishment of a settlement near Pindura Hill from which the
name Bindura was derived. In 1914 the first Village Management Board was set up to
administer the affairs of the settlement. Around June 1929 the Board was replaced by Town
Management Board and later on, Road Councils were set to administer transport issues in the
surround commercial areas. In 1967 the Bindura Rural Councils was formed and in 1990 it
transformed to a Town Council. The first township, Chipadze was established in 1965. The
town has been growing since then. The council was awarded Municipal status in 1997. There
are two major mines namely Freda Rebecca Gold mine and Trojan Nickel mine and these two
mines have built majority of houses in Bindura both low density and high density. They have
houses in Chiwaridzo and Greenhill area as well as near the mine. Other houses that are in
Bindura are owned by different companies and government. The bindura town council
created new residential areas in Aerodrome and Chiwaridzo phase 2 but they have not been
able to satisfy the rising need for housing in Bindura. Due to the availability of many farms
surrounding Bindura town, private land owners saw an opportunity to generate revenue by
sub dividing their farms into residential stands thereby establishing real estate business. This
thesis will be analyzing the role being played by real estate developers which have led to the
creation of new housing schemes such as Chipindura park residential area former known as
Artherstone farm, Woodbrooke residential area former known as Makusha farm, Greenhill
residential area former known as Greenhill farm, Brookdale former known as Pfugari and
Cleverhill residential area former known as Cleverhill farm. Yet in Zimbabwean urban areas,
housing has become a critical problem since independence in 1980. Important to note is that
while housing problem is generally perceived as a universal problem, the most affected
people are the less privileged and disadvantaged or the vulnerable groups such as minors and
women - groups which under customary laws of many ethnic groups in Zimbabwe hold no
entitlements or rights to own residential stands, houses or any other fixed asserts/properties.

Most countries have often increased investment in the housing sector as a way of boosting
domestic economic growth, provide housing and as a tool to fight domestic recession. Over
the past decade the potential of the housing sector in enhancing the social and economic
development of developing countries have become very apparent. Housing construction is
labor intensive thus it creates employment, especially of unskilled and semi-skilled labour.
The need for housing is not only one of the basic human basic, but also the indicator of living
standard of the population. Today it is a topical issue that housing has to be comfortable,
economical and reasonably maintainable, as well as architectonically expressive and
compliant with the environment (Henilane, 2015a). There has been an increase in the role
played by private land developers over the years as this has been seen to be a good source of
business. Discussion about housing in the context of socio-economic development includes;
water supply, sanitary provisions, electricity supply, sewer reticulation, ICTs for connectivity
and roads provision.

1.2 Problem statement

Housing problems in urban areas of Zimbabwe are a pressing concern, driven by factors such
as rapid urbanization and economic challenges (UN-Habitat, 2018). There is serious pressure
in the country's major cities due to rapid growth in urban population through rural to urban
migration. Given the population surge, there is an acute shortage of affordable housing even
for the poor. The demand for affordable housing far exceeds the available supply, leading to a
proliferation of informal settlements with substandard living conditions and inadequate
infrastructure (Chingombe et al., 2019). This therefore calls for action to be taken to arrest
deteriorating living conditions among urban dwellers. Local authorities and national
government officials have been implicated in extra-legal deals in land allocation and
manipulation of development application and the enforcement of building codes. This
therefore adds to the challenges on real estate development process (Chirisa et al., 2019:3).
The reason behind this complexity lies in the fact that the contemporary urbanized societies
have attained such a gigantic size and have received such a substantial degree of population
in its ambit, which has been unknown to human history (Hussain & Imitiyaz, 2018). In the
city of Bindura, the increasing urbanization is not matching with housing delivery by the
local authority and has been a topical issue causing the increase of private real estate land
developers coming in to cover that gap on behalf of the local government. Furthermore,
private developers as a compassionate housing provider their performance need to be
compare whether they are performing to the much expectation of residents in their need of
housing supply that is providing sewer, water, electricity and road utilities. It is on this
premise that the research seeks to evaluate the role of real estate land developers in the
provision of affordable housing in Zimbabwe with a particular reference to the city of
Bindura.

1.3 Purpose of Study

The purpose of this study is to analyse the role being played by real estate land developers in
providing developed and affordable housing. Safe, affordable housing is a basic necessity for
every family thus without a decent place to live people cannot be productive members of
society, children cannot learn and families suffer. There is shortage of housing in urban areas
which has been caused by rapid urbanization a situation where many people are now moving
from the rural areas to towns to seek greener pastures. The key major reason for shortage of
housing is failure to service land approved by Special Planning department under the ministry
of Local government. Shortage of housing has also been caused by failure of local authorities
to provide consistent and reliable residential stands to citizens for them to purchase and
construct and this have been witnessed by long waiting list at the housing departments. These
shortages then leave citizens exposed to high land prices from land barons who would have
acquired land through corrupt ways from council. It is against this background and based on a
detailed empirical research study that the research will assess the efficacy of the real estate
land developers’ arrangements to provide suitable and affordable housing to many people
focusing on Bindura. In a bid to correct these shortages the private sector has come in place
to work hand in hand with the government in the provision of housing through real estate
land developers. Therefore, this thesis is seeking to analyse the role of these real estate land
developers in solving the problem of shortage in housing. That is to check if they are being
successful in solving the housing shortage problem.

1.4 Objectives of the study

The objectives of this study are to:

1. To investigate the ability of real estate land developers in delivering serviced and
affordable housing to Bindura residents.
 2. To find the factors influencing the quality and durability of infrastructure
developments undertaken by land developers in Zimbabwe?
3. To analyse the challenges and obstacles faced by land developers in meeting
performance expectations.
4. To identify residents’ perception on the effectiveness of the real estate land
developers approach in provision of housing in Bindura.
5. To identify the solutions that can mitigate the challenges faced by real estate land
developers in provision of affordable housing in Bindura.

1.5 Research Questions

1. What the ability of real estate land developers in delivering serviced and affordable
housing to Bindura residents
2. What are the factors influencing the quality and durability of infrastructure
developments undertaken by land developers in Zimbabwe?
3. What are the residents’ perceptions on the effectiveness of the real estate developers
approach in provision of housing in Bindura?
4. What are the challenges and obstacles faced by land developers in meeting
performance expectations?
5. What are the solutions that can mitigate the challenges faced by real estate land
developers in provision of affordable housing in Bindura?

1.6 Justification/Rationale
This project represents a unique approach to the broad topic of housing issues in Zimbabwe
by focusing on the role being played by real estate land developers which has been previously
underrepresented in research. It is against this backdrop of lack of housing provision on the
part of government and the backlog and waiting list that there is need to determine the role of
real estate land developers in providing housing to low, middle- and high-income earners in
Zimbabwe. Understanding how real estate land developers operate in a bid to provide
affordable housing in Zimbabwe is of paramount important. While researchers continue to
examine the housing issues such as role being played by cooperative and corruption issues in
land allocation this research is going to focus on how real estate land developers are
contributing towards reducing shortages in housing in Zimbabwe but particularly focusing on
Bindura town.
1.7 Significance of the Study
This study is significant to researcher, academicians, local government, policy makers,
housing service providers and the ISPPME. To academicians the study sheds light on nature
of real estate developers. The study will give an insight into the management of land
development projects. The data that will be obtained will add to the existing literature on
housing cooperatives.

Real Estate Developers

Leaders of real estate development organizations in Zimbabwe may use findings from this
study to approach value creation and competitive advantage from the business process
perspective. Zimbabwe real estate managers may be able to use findings from this study to
improve their business practices through effective improvement of business performance,
which may lead to increased efficiencies and reduced operating costs, which in turn results in
provision of affordable housing.

To the student

The research will be a great significance to the researcher, as it will help him with research
skills as part of the accomplishment of the Postgraduate diploma in Project, Planning,
Monitoring and Evaluation.

To the National government and Bindura City Council

Through this research the different ministries, departments and local authority that support
the real estate developers will be able to benefit from the research, as it will shade more light
on the effectiveness of housing schemes in the provision of affordable urban housing. This
research will then suggest possible solutions to make sure that the land development housing
scheme approach is effective.

To Institute of Sustainable Project Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (ISPPME)

The research will help other students in their studies as they will be able to identify other loop
holes in the current real estate development approach to provision of housing that the
researcher could have not noted and they will know where exactly to direct their efforts, since
it will be in the library and it will also add on to the existing board of knowledge.
1.8 Assumptions of the Study
The study will assume:

 The participants will answer the interview; questions in an honest and candid manner.
 The inclusion criteria of the sample are appropriate and therefore, assure that the
participants have knowledge of the study.
Provision of housing by real estate land developers reduces shortages in housing
 Local authorities are in need of real estate land developers.
 Competition between private sector and public sector results in affordable housing.

1.9 Scope of study

The main focus of this study is to analyse the role being played by real estate land developers
in provision of affordable housing. The study will focus on one housing development scheme
called Woodbrooke which is managed by two real estate land development companies to
analyse if they are playing a critical role in provision of housing in Bindura.

1.10 Limitations and Delimitations

1. Some people benefiting from the housing schemes pose a challenge of failing to
cooperate with the researcher. To overcome this, the researcher thoroughly explained
the reasons and significance of the study to people for them to cooperate and provide
objective data.
2. The housing department officers at Bindura City Council might hide some crucial and
confidential information pertaining to housing schemes under study. The researcher
created good relationship with the relevant authorities in order to gain their
confidence.
3. The researcher is prone to face delays in receiving questionnaires from the
respondents. To overcome this, the researcher made sure that the questionnaires will
include a statement to show the due date for collection of the questionnaires,
respondents will also be encouraged to complete them within the stipulated time
frame.
1.11 Delimitations
The researcher focused the study on Bindura town which is situated 89km North-East of
Harare on the main road to Mt Darwin. The town lies in the ecological region 2 and is the
provincial capital of Mashonaland Central Province. It is subdivided into three types of
suburbs which are low density, medium density and high-density suburbs but the study is
focused high density housing development scheme called Woodbrooke.

1.12 Definition of terms

 Housing is one of the most important life components giving shelter, safety and
warmth, as well as providing a place to rest (Henilane, 2016). A house is a single-unit
residential building, which may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a
complex, structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with
plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems.
 Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household
income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local
government by a recognized housing affordability index. According to PD&R online
magazine (2017), in addition to meeting the basic need for shelter, housing can also
be a component of efforts to promote positive life outcomes for low- and moderate-
income families. Research shows that affordable housing has the capacity to help
improve residents’ health, access to education, and employment prospects
 Real Estate According to Udechukwu and Olusola (2016), real estate can be defined
as the earth’s surface which extends downward to the center of the earth and upward
to infinity, they include those things that are permanently attached by nature or by
people.
 Urbanization refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the
corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways
in which societies adapt to this change. Urbanization implies a change in the
economic, social and cultural aspects of the society. It is a process of becoming urban,
the movement of people or processes to urban areas, increase of urban areas,
population or processes (Hussain & Imitiyaz,2018)
 Local authority is a government subdivision of Zimbabwe, and is responsible for
many services in the area it covers. Each area Zimbabwe is covered by a local council
or authority, which are responsible for maintaining various services in the area. In
many cases, a local council is the lower tier authority in an area.