Tawanda Musariri

There is reported low uptake of more than 300 houses constructed by Government to give alternative accommodation to families affected by floods in the Gwayi area of Tsholotsho District in 2016.

Speaking to the Harare Post, a Tsholotsho Rural District Council official said, "The majority of the 300 two-roomed houses constructed to house families whose homes and crops were consumed by the flood three years ago remain vacant as the beneficiaries went back to the same homes they were evacuated from. The bulk of the families chose to relocate leaving the newly built homes because of traditional, social and economic factors."

The official said that despite the benevolence of government, the families wanted to stay put at their old places for such cultural considerations as the need to stay close to the graves of their departed loved ones. Some stayed just for the sake of the emotional and sentimental attachment they had developed with their homes over the years despite the flooding risks associated with the place.

Another consideration taken by the families includes the welfare of their livestock -an important source of livelihood- because the higher ground lacks pastures and fertile soils. Resultantly, occupancy at the new model homes remains scanty while the few occupied ones are not taken by full family complements.

Other sources speaking from Tsholotsho said some families commute seasonally between the two homes while others never bothered to take up the offered new houses.

Tsholotsho suffered a devastating flood that washed away homes, crops and livestock in 2016. Some families are yet to recover from the effects of the disaster despite government interventions together with efforts from other well-wishers.