Affordable housing a pipedream for majority of Zimbabwean women
By Nomzamo Gwebu
Primrose Sibanda (36), who resides in Pumula North suburb in Bulawayo metropolitan province says section 28 of Zimbabwe’s constitution that calls upon all institutions and agencies of government to take reasonable legislative and other measures to enable every person to have access to adequate shelter is meaningless to her as she has failed to have a home of her own for many years.
Primrose, like many other women in Zimbabwe says she survives on vending. She says she has a stall at the nearby Old Pumula shops where she sells airtime. She says although she is working hard, she does not even dream of owning a house. She says the dream of owning a house were quashed in 2023 when fire accidentally broke out at a house she was renting and the owner demanded that she rebuilds the house while at the same time paying rent.
“It started in November 2023 when I was busy at my stall. I got a call from my children that the house I was renting was on fire. I quickly rushed there but it was too late. The fire had destroyed everything in the house. The fire was now spreading to nearby houses and electricity power lines. The fire services came late and extinguished the fire. In the aftermath, all my property and the house were damaged. The two nearby houses were extensively damaged,” says Primrose.
Primrose says she contacted the owner of the house about the disaster. She says the landlord was livid and accused her children of starting the fire. He ganged up with the other house owners whose properties had been damaged by the fire. She says when she took occupancy of the property, she did not enter into any written agreements with the landlord.
“We never discussed the issues of what would happen in the event of such an incident. I have no lawyers and when the landlord demanded compensation, I agreed to his terms because I did not know how to defend myself,” says Primrose.
Primrose says landlords in her community take advantage of the acute housing challenge to exploit tenants. She says many landlords do not want any written agreements because they want to bent rules as they wish.
“There was no investigation into the cause of the fire yet the landlord accused me of recklessly starting the fire. I do not have access to any lawyers who can defend me from this injustice. After losing all my property, some well-wishers donated some items that I am using. The landlord said I should continue to reside in the damaged house while I am paying rent and raising money to re-build the house. How am I going to have my own house in such a situation?” says Primrose.
Another tenant from Pumula North in Bulawayo, Nokulunga Moyo (32) says exploitation of tenants is normalized due to housing shortage. She says her landlord often change rules to make sure he gets more money from her.
“All the landlords in Pumula do not have any respect for tenants. We are treated as if we are not human beings. In my case, the landlord often hikes rentals without notice. If I delay paying my rentals, he imposes some interest. I do not have any written agreement so there is no way I can defend myself,” says Nokulunga.
Stanley Moyo former secretary at Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA), says the association does not interfere in issues between landlords and tenants.
“Our organization is there to support residents so that we get services from the local authorities and tackle issues such as crime in our community,” says Moyo.
