{"id":1394,"date":"2025-12-01T22:56:48","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T22:56:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/?p=1394"},"modified":"2025-12-01T22:56:55","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T22:56:55","slug":"gwanda-residents-demand-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/?p=1394","title":{"rendered":"Gwanda residents demand action"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by NQOBANI MATHIBELA<\/em>
GWANDA \u2014 THE long-delayed development of residential stands at Judds Farm in Gwanda has entered its tenth year without progress, leaving hundreds of hopeful homeowners increasingly frustrated after paying between US$3 000 and US$11 000 as far back as 2015.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project, awarded to Harare-based developer Forit Contracting (Pvt) Ltd, has been stalled for years due to a contractual dispute between the company and the Gwanda Town Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to details revealed during a crisis meeting held on 7 November at the council boardroom, work cannot resume until Forit\u2019s contract\u2014previously terminated by council\u2014is formally renewed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minutes from the meeting show that Forit director Itai Madziyire claimed council had begun reversing its earlier decision to cancel the contract because his company had not been consulted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He told beneficiaries that the council was now working toward renewing the agreement by the end of 2025, insisting that no development can take place until that process is complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forit also cited additional delays stemming from overlapping mining claims on parts of the land, a complication that will require relocating and compensating affected beneficiaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Residents say these issues should have been identified years earlier and accuse both the council and the developer of gross negligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Home seekers at the meeting expressed deep anger and fatigue, noting that they have heard \u201cthe same promises for years\u201d while no machinery has moved on site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some said the prolonged silence from the developer had created anxiety, especially given the significant amounts already paid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Residents also rejected a proposal requiring full payment before issuance of title deeds, arguing that their original agreements allowed construction after making initial deposits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The meeting resolved that beneficiaries would now approach the Gwanda Town Council leadership directly for clarity on the renewal process, signalling growing public pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For now, Judds Farm remains untouched ground\u2014an unfulfilled promise that has left an entire community stuck in uncertainty almost a decade later.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by NQOBANI MATHIBELAGWANDA \u2014 THE long-delayed development of residential stands at Judds Farm in Gwanda has entered its tenth year without progress, leaving hundreds of hopeful homeowners increasingly frustrated after paying between US$3 000 and US$11 000 as far back as 2015. The project, awarded to Harare-based developer Forit Contracting (Pvt) Ltd, has been stalled […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1395,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5,8,9,44,11,3],"tags":[237],"class_list":["post-1394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editors-pick","category-featured","category-hot-topics","category-latest-updates","category-local","category-must-read","category-news","tag-gwanda-town-council"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Gwanda-Town-Council-150x150.jpeg","medium":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Gwanda-Town-Council-300x157.jpeg","medium_large":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Gwanda-Town-Council.jpeg","large":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Gwanda-Town-Council.jpeg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Gwanda-Town-Council.jpeg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Gwanda-Town-Council.jpeg","post-thumbnail":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Gwanda-Town-Council.jpeg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"administrator","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a3d5ebfe727f13fb325bd400aaaf5e789d3e2e20898883d9ae8e3d3d42d58cef?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"by NQOBANI MATHIBELAGWANDA \u2014 THE long-delayed development of residential stands at Judds Farm in Gwanda has entered its tenth year without progress, leaving hundreds of hopeful homeowners increasingly frustrated after paying between US$3 000 and US$11 000 as far back as 2015. The project, awarded to Harare-based developer Forit Contracting (Pvt) Ltd, has been stalled […]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["Editor's Pick","Featured","Hot Topics","Latest Updates","Local","Must Read","News"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":29,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":2,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Gwanda-Town-Council.jpeg",600,313,false],"medium":["https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Gwanda-Town-Council-300x157.jpeg",300,157,true],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Gwanda-Town-Council-150x150.jpeg",150,150,true]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"administrator","author_link":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/?author=2"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a3d5ebfe727f13fb325bd400aaaf5e789d3e2e20898883d9ae8e3d3d42d58cef?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"Editor's Pick<\/a> Featured<\/a> Hot Topics<\/a> Latest Updates<\/a> Local<\/a> Must Read<\/a> News<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1394"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1394\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1396,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1394\/revisions\/1396"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}