By Flata Kavinga
Zhombe Residents and Ratepayers Association Chairperson Kudzanai Marisa has called on Zibagwe Rural District Council (ZRDC) to prioritise the development of a “smart location” at Joel Business Centre by 2030, urging the local authority to improve service delivery, strengthen housing regulation and modernise infrastructure.
Speaking during the ZRDC Strategic Plan Workshop held in Kwekwe, Marisa said residents wanted to see significant changes under the 2026–2030 planning cycle, including digital management of residential stands, improved road networks, and reliable access to water and electricity.
“On behalf of Zhombe residents, in particular at Joel Business Centre where there is a residential area, we note that there are issues we want addressed from 2026 up to 2030,” he said. “Firstly, we hope to have what I call a smart location by 2030, whereby the Zibagwe Rural District Council will know the status of every stand just by the click of a button.”
Marisa said current challenges stem from past stand allocations made without adequate servicing, contrary to the spirit of the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), which identifies housing as a basic entitlement for all citizens.
“Our council allocated stands without servicing the stands. We want to see further developments in 2026 whereby we will have tarred roads and other amenities before the allocation of stands,” he said.
He urged ZRDC to engage the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) to improve access to power in the area, where he said fewer than half of households were connected. He added that only about 20 percent of residents received water from the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA), calling for broader connections.
Marisa also raised security concerns, citing incomplete and abandoned houses that he said were now being occupied by unknown individuals.
“When I talk about a smart location, we have complete and unfinished houses which are now harbouring unknown people who are only seen at night,” he said. “There are surrounding gold mines and we suspect they could be illegal gold miners. We don’t know these people in our neighbourhoods.”
He noted that undeveloped residential stands had remained idle for years despite rising demand for housing, urging the council to repossess them and allocate them to prospective homeowners ready to build.
“We also need solarised street lights in the area,” he added. “By 2030, we should have better roads. Most of the roads are just byways. Let’s work together for better development and even gravelled roads.”
Marisa said residents welcomed the appointment of a building inspector but encouraged ZRDC to station the official at Joel to ensure regular monitoring of construction works.
“He must carry out inspections where construction is taking place to avoid demolition of poorly constructed houses. We want to avoid that,” he said.
ZRDC officials took note of the concerns as part of the ongoing strategic planning process for the 2026–2030 period.
