A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Built Environment in Housing / This study unpacks the obstacles in the trajectory of parallel development implementation in Zimbabwe. Parallel development approach to housing allows housing construction to be carried out simultaneously with the provision of services (Government of Zimbabwe, 2012).Parallel development was implemented in Victoria Ranch with the aim to improve home ownership through affordability. The implementation of parallel development approach in Victoria Ranch produced a township without basic infrastructure and supporting services. Despite rapid house construction beneficiaries are unable to connect to services. This scenario affects the technical and social sustainability of the township. Thus this study interrogates the obstacles in the trajectory of the Victoria Ranch development. I employ a qualitative design which involved policy evaluation through a case study. I conducted fourteen semi-structured interviews with beneficiaries and officials from relevant ministries who are involved in the development of the Victoria Ranch. The interviewees were selected purposively. I also employed observation and transact walks. Following the study, this research report found that the project is affected by the politicisation of the project, lack of transparency, change of currency, lack of proper guidelines on policy implementation and less monitoring of the developers. / GR2018

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Built Environment in Housing Johannesburg May 2018 / The implementation of site and service schemes (S & SS) as a low cost sustainable housing arrangement in Beitbridge may not succeed in a depressed economy entrenched with both formal and informal approaches to project implementation. The delivery of low cost houses though S & SS as a low cost sustainable housing delivery approach has not lived up to its expectations, leaving much be desired except to arouse people’s concerted efforts to project implementation. This is in spite of a partnership which promised to be a potential success in providing serviced sites with infrastructure and services and reduce the housing backlog in Beitbridge. The depressed economy eroded household incomes, reduced government public funding of housing development and reduced municipal capacity to provide infrastructure which corresponds with the increased rate of housing development. Following an insightful in-depth interview methodology and several transect walk to the Dulivhadzimu West S & SS Project site, I argue that implementation of the scheme in terms of administrative, infrastructure provision and financial aspects were weak to enable successful implementation of the conventional approach to the scheme. The implementation inadvertently shifted to informal and unplanned approach to the dismay of the municipality and implementing partner and ended up benefiting the high income people who could afford paying for the services. As such, there were no clear regulatory mechanisms and modalities to enable the targeted low-income people to be beneficiaries of the scheme which was hijacked and benefited the high income people in Beitbridge. As a result, this has resulted in self-help approaches as resulting in self built houses through parallel and incremental development and informal adoption of alternative conventional infrastructure like septic tanks for sanitation facilities. Although the scheme is still in the early stages of project implementation, it clear that the trajectory of the implementation has changed and that the low income people, as the target population, might have been missed. / MT 2018