Epworth to host Independence celebrations for Harare Province

….as massive infrastructural development projects near completion in the suburb

By Kudzai Jakachira

Harare -Harare province through the ministry of State for Provincial and Devolution affairs is set to commemorate Independence day in the
dormitory town of Epworth where massive infrastructural development
projects are under way to change the image of the Harare East suburb
which was once regarded as informal.

Epworth is fast growing into a renowned town since commencement of the
Regularisation Exercise which saw over 22 000 households being
affirmed as eligible for the Presidential tittle deeds initiative.

Development in the area is fast looming and the once informal settlement local Authority is now formalizing households which did not
have proper documentation for their stands.

Epworth Local Board Director of Housing Mr. Dennis Muranduri
confirmed the enormous infrastructural developments being carried out in Epworth by the Local Authority affirming that formalization of the suburb is 60%complete and over 45 000 household owners will be owning
deeds under the Presidential tittle deeds programme in the next two months.

“Our Reguralisation programme is nearing completion and over 45 000
stand owners will be having tittle deeds, two months from now,” said Mr. Muranduri.

“The Local Authority is working on completing the Regularisation Exercise within two months, when all the roads have been surfaced,”
added Mr. Muranduri.

The Epworth Local Authority Director of Housing, underlined that the
Council target was to develop other areas in the suburb and make them look similar to well developed areas like Rock view, Adelaide Park and
Dendera Estates which are state of the art communities.

“There are very attractive zones in some parts of Epworth like Rock
view, Adelaide Park, and Dendera Estates which has faultless structures and roads which were constructed after proper planning, our
main agenda is to make every area of Epworth similar to those areas,”
said the Housing Director.

The European union successfully funded an initiative to empower small
to medium enterprises in the suburb by establishing a Community Enterprise Resource Center which is fully equipped with modern
machinery to design and mould steel as well as wood design and
graphics.

“We received a shot in the arm from the European Union after it sponsored us to construct a state of the art Community Enterprise Resource Center which is fully equipped with modern manufacturing
machines for steel manufacturing.

The population of Epworth is increasing at a faster rate, at 2.3% per year, than that of the whole Harare Metropolitan Region, at 1.43% per year.

Current population of Epworth stands at 206,368 people and is
projected to increase to 325 204 people by 2042..

Epworth Local Board, as established 1986, now administers a
population of  206,368. Such urban status is no longer suitable, in
terms of capacity, to  administer such a huge population

The important history of Epworth is not recorded anywhere in any other
form in  Epworth or books of Epworth Local Board except for the
original names of the  townships of Muguta, Makomo, Chinamano and
Zinyengere and the road  Chiremba. Such history needs to be properly
recognised with the establishment  of the Epworth Museum.

The R.G Mugabe International Airport poses restrictive controls over
the  development of Epworth, at the same time airport provides
opportunities for the  establishment of an export industry in Epworth
and surrounding areas.

Existing developments in Epworth are predominantly residential which
negates  the balanced landuse required for establishing a
self-sustaining town.  • High and medium density residential
developments in Epworth make use of  onsite sewage disposal systems
posing serious risks to health and wellbeing of  the Epworth
community.

Epworth has a total of 9 public schools and yet a majority of these
are over subscribed resulting in schools resorting to double sessions
to off-set the current  mismatch. A total of 15 yet-to-be developed
school sites are currently occupied  by illegal settlers.