Cowdray Park votes for Kwangu title deeds as council payment questions persist

Cowdray Park votes for Kwangu title deeds as council payment questions persist

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Residents in Cowdray Park, Bulawayo, have approved the rollout of the Kwangu/Ngakwami Presidential title deed programme after a final round of community engagement meetings ended with voting across all 31 segments of the suburb.

The meetings surfaced concerns linked to legacy payments previously made to the Bulawayo City Council for infrastructure development, with some residents asking for clearer accounting before committing fully to the new regularisation programme.

According to information shared during the engagements, the council’s works department told residents the funds were used for service delivery and said it is reconciling the payments in order to provide a full account.

The council also outlined infrastructure progress in the area, reporting that water reticulation is 97% complete, sewer coverage is at 30%, while roads are at 5% completion.

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The title deed initiative in Cowdray Park was approved by the City of Bulawayo in April 2025 and was officially launched by Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube at Cowdray Park Primary School in October 2025. It falls under a wider national programme announced by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in December 2022, aimed at regularising informal settlements and issuing title deeds to qualifying households on State land.

Addressing residents, Cowdray Park Member of Parliament Arthur Mujeyi said development would move ahead in segments that accepted the programme, while engagement would continue with areas that did not support it.

“Development will begin in the segments that have accepted the program. Continuous engagement will be maintained with those not yet fully aligned to the program,” Mujeyi said.

Senator Collette Ndlovu told the meeting that a rejection by some segments could not stop the overall process if the majority supported it. She also urged council to develop a comprehensive database of residents who previously paid development fees so that their contributions are properly considered within the Kwangu/Ngakwami framework.

Following the engagements, a formal vote was conducted across all segments. Of the 31 segments, 21 voted in favour of the programme, while 10 rejected it, clearing the way for implementation in the suburb.

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