Tawanda Musarurwa
Driven by rapid urbanisation, Harare teeters on the edge of a housing crisis.
The city’s rapid population growth, coupled with a lack of adequate housing development, has left several of its residents without formal shelter.
The 2022 Population Census sheds light on the severity of this problem and its far-reaching implications for Zimbabwe’s capital city.
Harare metropolitan province is now home to 2 427 209 people, according to the 2022 census – an increase of around 15,6 percent from 2 098 199 in the 2012 census.
This surge is emblematic of the broader trend of urbanisation sweeping across the country.
Unlike many expanding cities, Harare’s infrastructure and housing have failed to keep pace.
The average household size stands at 3,7 individuals, which, when combined with the swelling population, underscores the magnitude of the city’s housing shortfall.
A simple calculation, a stark reality
Dividing the total population by the average household size suggests that Harare province requires roughly 656 002 housing units.
This figure is in the range of the number of households in Harare province as per the 2022 census, of 653 562.
Some official figures indicate that just around 370 000 houses are on the municipality’s books.
According to the 2017 Inter-Censal Demographic Survey (ICDS), houses in the Harare metropolitan area (which has a population of 1,6 million) with access to piped water were 203 914, while 153 402 had piped water outside houses.
Another 9 996 houses utilised a communal tap, which gives a total of 367 312 formal housing units that are likely to be on the council’s books.
According to the Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe, Chitungwiza has 53 111 housing units (of which 50 915 are high density, 1 460 are medium density and 736 are low density.
The association also says Ruwa has a total of 23 143 housing units (of which 16 155 are high density, 3 871 are medium density and 3 117 are low density.
The number of housing units in Epworth is difficult to ascertain, but this year the Government indicated plans to issue 18 000 title deeds to homeowners in that sprawling community.
Going by these figures – totalling 461 566 – this leaves Harare province grappling with a shortfall of around 194 436 housing units, a deficit that has been growing – and will continue to grow – in tandem with the city’s population.
The rise of informal settlements
As a result of the short supply of formal housing, informal settlements have proliferated.
Harare is now dotted with several dozens of such enclaves, with some of the more popular ones including Hopley, Caledonia and parts of Southlea Park, just to mention a few.
These informal settlements often lack basic amenities such as clean water, sanitation and electricity.
It is estimated that roughly 240 000 residents (around 13 percent of Harare’s population) live in these informal settlements.
For instance, the 2017 ICDS highlighted that 15,6 percent of households in Harare used the flush to sceptic tank system (which is more common in informal settlements).
The proliferation of informal settlements further burdens Harare’s already strained infrastructure.
According to the latest Harare City Council reports, the capital’s water system can only meet 40 percent of the demand.
The dilapidated infrastructure is buckling under the weight of rapid urbanisation, with informal settlements suffering the most acute shortages.
The cost of progress
Building affordable housing in Harare is no mean feat.
Current estimates place the cost of constructing a low-income housing unit between US$10 000 and US$30 000, depending on various factors such as materials and labour.
To this extent, addressing Harare’s housing deficit, a staggering US$1,95 billion is needed at the minimum for housing units, without factoring in supporting infrastructure.
Such figures are daunting, but they underscore the scale of the challenge facing Harare’s urban planners.
Harare’s housing crisis is not simply an issue of bricks and mortar.
It is symptomatic of a broader failure in urban planning and governance.
Harare Residents’ Trust executive director Mr Precious Shumba said addressing this crisis will require not only substantial financial investment, but also a comprehensive strategy that integrates housing development with infrastructure expansion.
“It is important to give effect to the housing policy, which places emphasis on densification,” said Mr Shumba.
“High-rise buildings, especially for residential purposes have become a necessity to minimise urban sprawl, which increases the burden on local authorities to put in new infrastructure for roads, sewer and water in the new suburbs.”
He added:
“The infrastructure development problem has to be looked in the context of our town planning, particularly the way our local authorities are establishing new suburbs.
“The lack of service centres in most suburbs is pushing people to continue to drive into the central business district for offices, banking and other essential services instead of these being offered where the people live.”
Harare’s infrastructure – for instance, its main water treatment plant Morton Jaffray, which was constructed in 1952 – was meant to cater for around 300 000 people, but the population of the metropolitan area is creeping towards the two million mark.
According to the 2022 census, the number of people living in the low and middle-density suburbs of Harare stood at 314 164.
Without a proper master plan, Harare risks becoming a city where many are crowded into informal settlements, while a lucky few reside in the well-developed suburbs – two worlds, one city.
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE SUNDAY MAIL – https://www.heraldonline.co.zw/new-harares-housing-headache/