E.C.T
Shonhiwa
Property
Developers,
is
one
of
several
private
land
developers
contracted
to
service
residential
stands
in
Bulawayo.
The
company
owned
by
the
late
Edmund
Campion
Takawira
Shonhiwa
was
allocated
91
stands
in
Pelandaba
West
suburb
in
2006.
However,
the
developer
did
not
fully
service
the
stands
but
was
issued
with
a
certificate
of
completion
in
2021
.
A
Compliance
Certificate
is
issued
when
a
land
developer
has
provided
services
such
as
tarred
roads,
sewer
reticulation,
water
supply
and
drainages
to
required
quality
standards.
Besides,
without
a
Compliance
Certificate,
title
deeds
cannot
be
processed
for
individual
stands.
Private
land
developers
need
to
be
certified
before
they
can
hand
over
serviced
stands
to
the
Bulawayo
City
Council.
A
Compliance
Certificate
issued
on
22
September
2021
to
E.C.T
Shonhiwa
Property
Developers
seen
by
CITE
was
signed
by
Sikhumbuzo
Ncube,
then
Deputy
Director
of
Engineering
Services
on
6
October
2022.
Ncube
was
appointed
Director
of
Engineering
Services
in
April
2023.
The
Compliance
Certificate
states
that
BCC
was
satisfied
with
the
servicing
of
91
stands
under
phase
2
with
both
sewer
and
water
reticulation
systems.
“…Has
met
requirements
of
condition
8
as
stated
in
the
Memorandum
of
Agreement
signed
on
the
26th of
May
2006
by
satisfactorily
demonstrating
compliance
with
relevant
technical
standards
in
the
following
categories
of
work:
water
supply
and
sewer
system,”
read
the
Compliance
Certificate.
“We
Were
Told
Everything
Was
Ready”
E.C.T
Shonhiwa
Property
Developers,
sold
residential
stands
in
Pelandaba
West
in
2015,
assuring
buyers
that
the
area
would
have
paved
roads,
functional
sewer
systems
and
piped
water.
More
than
a
decade
later,
residents
say
they
are
living
with
collapsing
sewer
lines,
poor
drainage
and
gravel
roads
that
become
muddy
and
impassable
during
the
rainy
season.
Different
private
land
developers
were
contracted
to
service
Pelandaba
West
suburb,
but
residents
complain
that
water,
sewer
and
road
infrastructure
was
not
fully
installed.
Residents
were
forced
to
pay
for
water
to
be
connected
to
their
homes.
Residents
of
Pelandaba
West
say
they
were
deceived
into
believing
their
stands
were
fully
serviced
before
they
began
construction.
Gatsheni,
who
also
chairs
Ward
18
residents
under
the
Bulawayo
Progressive
Residents
Association
(BPRA),
recalls:
“The
challenge
we
are
facing
began
in
2015
when
we
started
building
here,
we
were
told
that
the
stands
were
fully
serviced.
We
don’t
know
how
Bulawayo
City
Council
(BCC)
approved
the
sale
of
stands
before
they
were
fully
serviced.”
When
we
had
settled,
we
discovered
that
there
was
no
drainage
system,
when
it
rains
water
floods
our
houses,”
he
said.
“For
us
to
be
given
green
light
to
build,
services
such
as
roads,
water
should
have
been
there,
but
as
I
am
saying,
when
we
came
here,
there
were
no
water
pipes
until
we
took
the
matter
to
court,
now
there
is
sewer
problems
we
don’t
even
know
how
the
challenge
will
be
fixed
and
there
is
no
tarred
roads,”
he
said.
He
added
that
as
residents
leaders,
their
wish
is
for
private
land
developers
to
fully
service
the
area
and
put
all
facilities
such
as
the
road
infrastructure
,
water
pipes
and
sewer
pipes
before
selling
the
stands
so
that
residents
don’t
face
service
delivery
challenges.
E.C.T Shonhiwa Property
Developers
said
they
are
trying
to
resuscitate
other
businesses
to
raise
money
to
finish
the Pelandaba West
project.
“We
do
not
have
funds
because
the
estate
of
Edmund
Campion
Takawira
Shonhiwa
is
not
yet finalized, everything
is
still
under
the
government.
However,
there
is
a
project
that
we
are
trying
to
resuscitate
like
our
mine,
so
once
that
has
been finalized,
we
want
to
complete
the Pelandaba project,
drainage systems and
the
roads,”
said
Mark Shohniwa a
grandson of
the
late
Edmund
Shonhiwa.
Shonhiwa
said
he
has
contacted
one
of
his
relatives
with
a
plumbing
company
to
assess
the
situation
in Pelandaba West.
He
admitted
that
the
sewers
were
an
outstanding
item
the
land
developers
needed
to
fix.
“We
plead
with
the
community
of Pelandaba West
to
give
us
time
because
this
Estate
does
not
have
money.
We
are
working
on
our
mine
because
we
intend
to
keep
the
company
alive
because
right
now,
we
can
simply
walk
away
and
say
this
was
Edmund
Shonhiwa’s
project,
he
is
gone,
but
it’s
not
going
to
help
anyone,
we
want
to
maintain
a
good
reputation
and
intend
to
keep
the
business
alive.”
Shoniwa
explained
that
the
only
payments
he
is
aware
of
are
those
made
for purchasing stands
and
water
connections,
which
were
paid
to
the
developer
before
the
project
was
handed
over
to
the
City
Council.
The
Environmental
Management
Report
of
26
September
2025
indicates
that
E.C.T Shonhiwa Property
Developers
had
completed
sewer
and
water
reticulation
and
had
done
a
partial
handover.
“This
was
private
land
that
the
owner
had
subdivided
and
intended
to
fully
service
the
land
before handing over
to council.
Unfortunately,
the
developer failed
to fully
service
the
said
land
and
as
a
result
some
of
the
properties
were
inaccessible. Most of
the
roads
were
just
bush
cleared
and
no
formal
construction
had
been
carried
out,”
read
a
confidential
report.
Certified
but
work
half
done
Other
private
land
developers
accused
of
not
completing
the
servicing
of
residential
stands
have
also
been
issued
with
certificates
of
completion,
meaning
they
met
the
conditions
of
the
contract
to
service
stands.
Residents
in
Bulawayo
have
questioned
how
private
land
developers
were
issued
Compliance
Certificates
by
the
Bulawayo
City
Council
(BCC)
despite
what
they
describe
as
incomplete
and
substandard
infrastructure
in
their
suburb.
Another
private
land
developer,
A.P.
Glendinning
Private
Limited
was
allocated
stands
for
servicing
in
Pelandaba
West
Phase
4.
Residents
complain
that
AP
Glendenning
did
not
complete
the
development
of
roads
and
installation
of
water
and
sewer
systems.
“We
have
no
tarred
roads,
when
it
is
raining,
we
face
a
lot
of
challenges,”
bemoaned
Sakhile
Tshuma,
a
residents
leader
in
Pelandaba
West.
“There
are
no
drainage
systems,
and
the
sewer
system
was
not
properly
constructed,
it
constantly
bursts.”
Tshuma
moved
into
Pelandaba
West
in
2016,
and
her
stand
had
no
water
connection.
She
and
other
residents
had
to
pay
for
water
connection
to
their
stands.
Tshuma
said
they
have
engaged
A.P.
Glendinning
Private
Limited,
with
no
joy.
They
say
the
private
land
developer
told
them
the
Pelandaba
West
Phase
4
project
has
been
handed
over
to
the
local
authority.
The
company
has
maintained
that
it
completed
its
portion
of
the
servicing
of
the
stands.
Reached
for
a
comment,
a
manager
at
A.P.
Glendinning
Private
Limited,
who
identified
himself
as
Paul
Youngman
said:
“When
we
do
servicing
of
stands,
it
has
to
comply
to
BCC,
after
we
do
a
partial
handover
where
you
are
under
maintenance
for
12
months
under
city
council
and
then
once
you
have
done
your
12
months,
city
council
will
come
back
and
inspect
that
everything
is
satisfactory
and
then
they
give
you
a
handover
certificate,”
he
said.
“Once
the
12
months
have
lapsed
and
they
come
and
inspect
and
they
are
satisfied,
it
is
now
handed
over
to
the
council.
So,
anything
from
that
date
is
now
in
the
council’s
obligation
to
sort
out.”
AP
Glendinning
Private
Limited
showed
CITE
copies
of
Certificate
of
Completion
which
were
granted
and
signed
in
a
phase
approach.
In
2016,
the
developer
completed
the
servicing
of
Pelandaba
Wet
phase
11
with
road,
water
and
sewer
reticulation
for
stands
396
to
1434.
On
14
December
2017,
the
land
developer
received
the
certificate
of
completion
for
servicing
of
Pelandaba
West
phase
1
with
roads,
water
and
sewer
reticulation
from
stand
number
1339
to
1738.
“The
maintenance
period
was
from
24
November
2014
to
23
November
2015.
The
developer
has
successfully
maintained
the
above
service
to
conditions
and
specifications
satisfactory
to
the
Director
of
Engineering
Services
during
this
period.
The
infrastructure
developed
for
the
services
mentioned
above
will
from
this
day
onwards
be
the
responsibility
of
the
City
Council,”
read
the
Certificate
of
Completion
dated
14
December
2017.
In
2019,
the
developer
completed
the
servicing
of
Pelandaba
West
with
roads,
water
and
sewer
for
stands
2
to
384.
The
certificates
were
all
signed
by
officials
from
the
local
authority.
However,
residents
say
the
quality
of
roads
in
Pelandaba
West
is
poorer
than
in
older
suburbs,
raising
questions
about
the
standards
applied
to
recent
private
developments
as
on
resident
remarked
“
This
is
a
new
suburb
but
now
looks
like
an
old
suburb.”
Documents
reviewed
by
CITE
and
interviews
with
residents
suggest
that
BCC
may
have
failed
to
enforce
its
own
regulations
as
empowered
by
the
Urban
Councils
Act
(Chapter
29:15)
to
inspect
and
approve
developments
before
issuing
Compliance
Certificates.
While
E.C.T
Shonhiwa
Property
Developers
has
a
Compliance
Certificate,
residents
under
his
phase
indicated
that
they
still
don’t
have
title
deeds
as
the
project
was
partially
handed
over.
Developers
Shift
Responsibility
Hawkflight,
another
private
land
developer
accused
of
delivering
substandard
work
in
Pelandaba
West
suburb
was
issued
with
a
Compliance
Certificate.
However,
contacted
by
CITE
for
comment,
the
Operations
Manager
at
Hawkflight,
Martin
Moyo,
said
they
could
not
show
their
Compliance
Certificate
because
the
Pelandaba
West
project
was
long
done
and
the
certificates
are
filed
in
their
archives.
“We
don’t
have
personnel
who
can
go
and
dig
the
archives
and
look
for
those
records,
I
cannot
be
asked
to
comment
on
what
is
happening,
that
is
not
my
suburb
at
the
moment
and
is
not
even
under
my
supervision.
I
handed
it
over
to
the
responsible
authority.
If
there
are
any
other
problems
the
responsible
authority
should
answer
that,”
he
said.
“We
don’t
keep
our
files
forever,
at
that
time
we
had
no
such
digital
platform,”
said
Moyo,
insisting
that
Hawkflight
had
completed
its
work
and
handed
the
project
over.
“We
are
no
longer
responsible
for
maintenance
of
sewer
and
water
lines.
Any
problems
should
be
directed
to
the
responsible
authority,”
said
Moyo.
Council
reports,
however,
note
that
Hawkflight
was
yet
to
submit
all
handover
documentation
to
the
city
council
for
future
maintenance
despite
claiming
completion
“For
the
projects
that
were
completed
and
handed
over
to
Council,
the
maintenance
is
now
the
responsibility
of
the
Engineering
Services
Department.
The
maintenance
will
now
be
carried
out
using
the
general
maintenance
now
competing
with
other
projects
city
wide,”
read
the
minutes.
Red
Flags
Bulawayo
Ward
13
Councillor,
Felix
Madzana,
confirmed
that
compliance
certificates
were
issued
to
private
land
developers
even
though
they
had
not
installed
roads,
water
and
sewer
lines
in
residential
stands
they
were
contracted
to
service.
“When
I
asked
why
developments
were
accepted
without
tarred
roads,
storm
drains
and
tower
lights,
I
was
told
this
was
what
had
been
agreed,”
Madzana
said
in
an
interview
with
CITE.
“We
need
to
ensure
that
the
department
of
Engineering
Services
does
proper
supervision.
We
have
roads
which
were
done
five
years
ago
that
look
older
than
the
roads
done
before
independence.
Even
in
some
areas
where
we
are
commissioning
stands,
the
roads
that
we
see
don’t
meet
standards
of
the
second
largest
city
in
the
country,”
Cllr
Madzana
said,
calling
for
strict
supervision
“so
that
we
don’t
carry
the
burden
of
substandard
work
which
should
be
done
by
private
developers.”
Claude
Phuti,
Programmes
Manager
for
Bulawayo
Progressive
Residents
Association
(BPRA),
a
community-based
organisation
advocating
for
residents’
rights,
said
Pelandaba
West
is
one
of
several
suburbs
where
residents
are
victims
of
incomplete
servicing.
“We’ve
received
similar
complaints
from
Magwegwe
West,
Pumula
South,
and
others,”
Phuti.
“Some
houses
in
Pelandaba
West
were
even
built
on
wetlands
without
inspection,
and
you
now
see
them
developing
structural
problems.
Some
are
too
close
to
each
other.
The
system
is
failing
residents.”
Council
tightens
vetting
of
private
land
developers
Reached
for
comment,
the
Bulawayo
City
Council
confirmed
that
under
the
previous
prepaid
scheme,
residents
made
payments
in
advance
before
a
contractor
was
appointed
to
service
the
land.
“This
arrangement
adversely
affected
beneficiaries,
particularly
when
the
national
currency
transitioned
from
the
United
States
Dollar
to
RTGS,
resulting
in
significant
value
erosion
of
the
funds
paid.
Consequently,
residents
were
later
required
to
make
additional
top-up
payments
to
cover
the
short
fall,”
said
BCC
Corporate
Communications
Officer,
Bongiwe
Ngwenya.
She
said
in
view
of
these
past
challenges,
the
current
developer-led
model
ensures
that
land
servicing
is
completed
prior
to
stand
allocation,
“thereby
protecting
beneficiaries
from
financial
loss
and
ensuring
that
only
fully
serviced
stands
are
brought
to
the
market.”
Ngwenya
said
the
City
has
taken
several
measures
against
private
land
developers
who
fail
to
meet
their
contractual
obligation
and
one
such
measure
is
the
withholding
of
completion
certificates
and
title
processing
until
the
developer
meets
all
servicing
and
contractual
requirements.
Meanwhile,
she
said
the
City
is
continuously
monitoring
all
ongoing
residential
development
projects
to
ensure
that
development
progresses
in
line
with
approved
layouts,
servicing
standards,
designs
and
timelines.
Ngwenya
admitted
that
most
complaints
from
residents
involve
incomplete
works
rather
than
poor
workmanship,
adding
that
“the
few
cases
of
substandard
works
generally
stem
from
projects
implemented
before
2009,
when
the
City
was
affected
by
brain
drain
and
reduced
technical
capacity.”
“In
respect
of
incomplete
works,
residents
have
been
requested
to
contribute
top-up
funds
to
facilitate
completion
of
outstanding
services,
since
funding
for
such
projects
is
solely
derived
from
the
sale
of
stands,”
she
said.
According
to
Ngwenya,
the
BCC
has
introduced
stricter
vetting
of
land
developers
and
performance-based
contracts
with
penalties
for
non-compliance
as
well
as
regular
inspections
by
city
engineers.
“Collaboration
between
the
Water
and
Sanitation
and
Works
Services,
Housing,
Town
Planning
and
Audit
Departments
has
been
enhanced
to
improve
oversight
and
information
sharing,”
Ngwenya
noted,
emphasizing
that
the
council
was
only
approving
land
developers
with
proven
technical
capacity,
financial
stability
and
a
track
record
of
successful
project
delivery
to
undertake
projects.
“The
city
has
taken
a
number
of
measures
against
private
land
developers
who
fail
to
meet
their
contractual
obligations,”
Ngwenya
said,
adding
that,
“These
Issuance
of
warning
letters
and
notice
of
breach,
cancellation
of
development
permits
in
cases
of
persistent
non-performance
and
utilization
of
performance
bonds
were
applicable.”
She
urged
residents
to
report
issues
through
ward
offices
and
the
City’s
customer
Contact
Centre
to
enable
early
identification
and
correction
of
deficiencies.
“The
City
has
established
procedures
for
addressing
complaints
from
residents
regarding
substandard
work
on
services
such
as
sewer,
roads,
and
water
infrastructure.
When
such
complaints
are
received,
the
following
steps
are
undertaken:
Receipt
and
Logging
of
Complaints,
Technical
Assessment
and
Inspection,
Engagement
with
the
Developer
or
Contractor,
Follow-Up
and
Verification
and
Enforcement
Action
(if
necessary),”
said
Ngwenya.