EmaSwati have grabbed the opportunity to invest in residential property located in areas previously known as informal settlement areas. The Municipal Council of Mbabane defines these areas today as Residential Upgrading Districts. These are areas that include; Msunduza, Mahwalala, Nkwalini, Malagwane, Mangwaneni, Manzana, Mvakwelitje, Makholokholo, Sidvwashini South, Fonteyn, Sitibeni, and others. In a conversation with the Council’s Public Relations Officer, Lucky Tsabedze, this is what he had to say.
Article by Ntokozo Nkambule
Q: We understand the town of Mbabane is composed of informal settlement areas. How and what does the Mbabane City Council classify as an informal settlement area?
A: The areas within the jurisdiction of the Municipal Council of Mbabane are classified as urban, hence the Municipality is an urban local government authority as declared in terms of the Urban Government Act, 1969. The Municipality has been classified as an urban area since 1912, the Municipality was declared by King Mswati III as a City in 1992. Mbabane is the Capital City of Eswatini which bears testament that the areas within the Municipality are urban.
The municipality is mandated by the Act, to deliver urban local government services to all areas/communities/residents in proportion to available resources in a fair manner as informed by priorities identified in Council’s main strategy document is the Integrated Development Plan.
Officially, the municipality does not differentiate or classify areas as semi-urban areas. Nowhere within any official document or bye-law does Council have such a classification.
In terms of the Mbabane Town Planning Scheme, 2016-2022, the Municipality has Zoned areas in the Development Code as Residential Upgrading Districts. These areas are recognized as previously informal settlement areas, which have developed arbitrarily within the Mbabane Urban Area. The areas are associated with very high population densities.
Through the Urban Renewal and Upgrading Programmes by the Local Authority, individual plots have since been demarcated in some townships and included into the proper plot and street layouts, thus enabling improved land use planning, regulation, and management within these areas, in addition to the incremental upgrading and supply of minimum required infrastructural services.
Q: Can you please list the areas in Mbabane that fall under Residential Upgrading Districts?
A: In terms of the areas zoned Residential Upgrading District, the locations are generally, Msunduza, Mahwalala, Nkwalini, Malagwane, Mangwaneni, Manzana, Mvakwelitje, Makholokholo, Sidvwashini South, Fonteyn, Sitibeni, etc. The areas fall in Wards 1, 2, 3, 7, 11, and 12.
Q: What benefits come with people who build houses or invest in Residential Upgrading Districts? Do they receive the same municipal benefits enjoyed by homeowners in urban areas?
As mentioned above, Council is mandated to deliver services equitably, and the Urban Renewal and Upgrading Programmes of the Council in particular the Urban Development Programmes aim to ensure that residents have registered plots where they can build decent homes and also receive the same services as any other urban area in the City.
Q: Do people with the property under Residential Urban Districts, pay any form of property rates?
A: Property Rates in the areas zoned Residential Upgrading District are not billed where there is still no formally defined plot registered at the Deeds Registry Office. Where plots have been allocated and registered at the Deeds to individual property owns in some of the townships, rates are billed. Property registration is a requirement for billing of rates to individuals as required by the Rating Act, 1995.
Q: There are reports that some of these Urban Residential Districts will be upgraded to full urban areas and property owners start paying total rates. When will this take place, and which areas are likely to be upgraded?
A: As mentioned above, Council has through its Integrated Development Plan prioritized the Upgrading of areas zoned Residential Upgrading District in order for the Council to provide effective and efficient urban local government services. Council has been delivering projects aimed at upgrading the informal settlements with the objective of delivering effective infrastructure services.
Council completes the upgrading of townships in different stages, and once plots have been registered with the Deeds Office, Payment of Plots have been completed and Registration of the Plots to Individuals, Council is mandated by the law to then bill the individual property owners. The delivery of a complete upgrading project is in stages as it is externally driven and not entirely dependent on Council. Also, funding the project is challenging which makes delivery a challenge. As mentioned, the above areas in the listed Wards are part of the upgrading programmes.
Note: This article first appeared in Issue 11 of Eswatini Property Review, our sister publication.
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