Mupandawana Town Finally Gets Nod to Expand
Yvonne Mutambwa
MASVINGO – Mupandawana Town Board in Gutu District has been given green light by the government to expand into the nearby resettlement of Chomfuli Farm as part of their town’s expansion project.
The expansion project comes at a time when there has been a growing demand for residential and commercial space within Masvingo Province.
The town board was established in 2015 after the granting of town status by the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing.
Mupandawana Town board administrator Mr Joseph Ndahwi said the board was working with a consultant to come up with a master plan for the expansion project.
“We have started planning the newly acquired land with work on the ground to start by May this year,” he said.
The board got approval for an expansion into the Chomfuli – a resettlement farm from the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement.
The farm was acquired by Government under the Land Reform Programme in 2000.
The town which started as a central business centre, Mupandawana was later accorded Growth Point Status after Independence and elevated to a Town Board in 2015.
The town has been under pressure to urgently meet the growing demand for residential and commercial land.
It also comprises residential areas like Mupandawana Extension, Hwiru, Gona Village, Munhende and Chomfuli.
The Gutu Rural District Council said the affected farmers will be incorporated into the new developments as a way of compensation.
The council also said the affected farmers will not pay development charges.
“They are also to be exempted from paying other development charges. Most farms requested are earmarked for residential and commercial developments and existing homesteads will be incorporated into the proposed developments,” reads a communique from the Gutu RDC’s Chief Executive Officer Mr Alexander Mutembwa to the District Chief Lands Officer.
Mupandawana currently has a population of around 5 000.
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