Housing Cooperatives in Harare: A Case Study of the Current Housing Consortium
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Table of contents
Contents PAGE
List of tables iv
List of boxes iv
List of Figures iv
List of Plates iv
List of abbreviations and acronyms v
Dedication vi
Acknowledgement vii
Abstract viii
Chapter 1: Background to the study
1.0 Introduction 1
1.1 Background 2
1.2 Problem Statement 4
1.3 Aim and Objectives 4
1.4 Academic Justification 5
1.5 Rational of the Study 5
1.6 Definition of Key Terms 5
1.7 Organisation of the Study 6
1.8 Chapter Conclusion 7
Chapter 2: Review of related literature
2.0 Introduction 9
2.1 The Concept of Cooperative Synergism 9
2.2 Advantages of A Housing Consortium 11
2.2.1 Advantages of Cooperation of Housing Cooperatives 11
2.2.2 Challenges of Combined Housing Cooperative Society’s Action 11
7. ii
2.3 Policy and Cooperative Synergism 12
2.3.1. The Legislative, Regulative and Support Environment 13
2.4 Membership and Establishment 15
2.4.1 Why Housing Cooperatives Amalgamate 15
2.5 Cooperative Management in Theory and Practise 16
2.5.1 Cooperative Management in Theory 16
2.5.2 Cooperative Management in Practice 16
2.6 Sources of Finance 18
2.6.1 Members’ Funds 18
2.6.2 Loan Capital 18
2.6.3 Support Organizations 19
2.7 Land Acquisition 19
2.8. The Urban Low Income Group 19
2.9 Cooperative Synergism and Individual Members 21
2.10 Chapter Conclusion 22
Chapter 3: Research methodology
3.0 Introduction 23
3.1 Research Paradigm 23
3.2 Target Population 23
3.3 Sampling Procedure 23
3.4 Data Collection Methods 25
3.4.1 Primary Data 25
3.4.2 Secondary Data Collection 27
3.5 Ethical Considerations 27
3.6 Limitations of the Study 27
3.7 Data Analysis 29
3.8 Validity and Reliability 29
3.9 Chapter Conclusion 30
8. iii
Chapter 4: Data presentation and analysis
4.0 Introduction 33
4.1 Establishment of CHC 33
4.2 Household Responses 35
4.3 Perception of the CHC Management 46
4.4 The CHC Management Perspective 58
4.5 Government Perspective 60
4.6 Chapter Conclusion 61
Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recommendations
5.0 Introduction 62
5.1 Conclusions 62
5.1.1 CHC Membership 62
5.1.2 Establishment of CHC 63
5.1.3 Perceived Advantages And Challenges Of Coalition 65
5.1.4 Policy And Cooperative Housing In Harare 66
5.2 Recommendations 68
5.3 Areas for Future Research 71
REFERENCES 72
APPENDICES 78
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: CHC sample representation 24
Table 2: Research design matrix 31
Table 3: CHC membership representation 34
Table 4: CHC respondents’ income level 42
Table 5: CHC management perception on cooperative synergism 57
Table 6: Recommendations 70
LIST OF BOXES
Box 1: Tashinga Housing Cooperative 17
Box 2: Northern Housing Consortium 17
Box 3: Kugarika Kushinga Housing Cooperative 18
Box 4: Tamuka Housing Cooperative chairman’s views 45
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Conceptual framework 10
Figure 2: Development of housing cooperatives 21
Figure 3: Age sex representation of CHC respondents 36
Figure 4: Major reasons for joining a cooperative society 38
Figure 5: Educational levels of CHC respondents 41
Figure 6: Educational representation in CHC management 47
LIST OF PLATES
Plate 1: A water main connecting to CHC 50
Plate 2: Electricity pylons installed by CHC 51
Plate 3: Gravel road constructed by CHC 52
Plate 4: Sewer manhole at CHC 53
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LIST OF ABREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
CHC Current Housing Consortium
DRUP Department of Rural and Urban Planning
HCC Harare City Council
MYGEC Ministry of Youth, Gender and Employment Creation
MNHSA Ministry of National Housing and Social Amenities
MGEC Ministry of Gender and Employment Creation
UZ University of Zimbabwe
NHC Northern Housing Consortium
FHC Five-stars Housing Cooperative
THM Tamuka Housing Cooperative
RMHC Rufaro Marketing Housing Cooperative
VHC Vimbainesu Housing Cooperative
TRHC Tregers Housing Cooperative
GIHC Golden igloo Housing Cooperative
EHSDHC Emarald Hill School of the Deaf Housing Cooperative
TLHC Towerlight Housing Cooperative
WHC Winfield Housing Cooperative
CMHC Canand Metal Box Housing Cooperative
11. vi
Dedications
This project is dedicated to my brother Silas. M. Paradza and my sister Georgina Munyai who
were always by my side during my academic studies. I also dedicate this research project to my
mother as well as my late brother Chamunorwa Paradza for they were so inspirational to me.
12. vii
Acknowledgements
The success of this dissertation owes direct and indirect attribution to many individuals. The
single greatest inspiration and influence on this research project came from my supervisor Mr I.
Chirisa for his advice and guidance. Similarly my colleagues from the department of Rural and
Urban Planning (DRUP), Tirivafi Macharaga, Comas Murepa, Kudzi Chinamira, Brighton
Zimano, Polite Mazivire, Calvin Banda, Norah and many others who helped me to carry the
survey. Help in typing and editing came from Mr S. Paradza, Mrs. Zvitsva, and Mr Mandigo, I
am grateful to all of them. Financial and material assistance was offered by my family members
and friends who include among others Mr S. Paradza, Mr and Mrs. Munyai, Mr G. Paradza, Mr
Y. Chipoka, Mr H. Paradza, Mr P.M Paradza, Mr T. Kapfudza and my mother, they both
provided the personal support, the needed gooding and patience during my long period of
research and writing. I also appreciate the support by the Current Housing Consortium (CHC),
during the survey period especially Mr Mashiri and Harare City Council especially the
Planning office.
13. 1
CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Housing the urban poor has haunted local authorities world wide. This has resulted in policy
reforms. National Governments are signatories to the UN Habitat 1996 Declaration and
Millennium Development Goal number 7 which calls for the improvement in the standard of
living for the urban poor. However as highlighted by UN Habitat (2001), currently an estimated
one billion people around the world are inadequately housed; of which more than one hundred
are homeless. Governments in both developing nations and developed countries are working
tirelessly to try and harness the problem of homelessness.
According to Arnott (2009), in the United States there are three types of federal low-income
housing assistance programs, the first is public housing projects which are owned and operated
by local public housing authorities established by local governments but funded primarily by the
federal government. The second involves projects that are owned privately, either by non-profits
or for profits firms, and receive subsidies from the government. The third is tenant based
assistance housing development by the state. Stavrakakis (2000) said that, in Canada housing for
the urban poor is provided by cooperative societies which are served by independent ‘resource
groups’. These resource groups usually acquire land, design and construct housing while
funding comes mainly from the government. As noted by UN Habitat (2005), in Sweden there
are large federations of housing cooperatives which undertake all aspects of housing
cooperatives of low income developments.
In Africa, the economic performance over the last decade has been poor hence very limited
resources have thus been made available for investment in low-income housing. As noted by
UN-Habitat (2001) poverty in the African region is still wide spreading with large sections of
the urban population living in informal and unplanned settlements with no access to basic
infrastructure and services. According to Hakizuwera (2007) in Malawi one of the key problems
facing the poor in Zomba municipality is access to housing which is fundamentally compounded
by lack of access to land. Nyashanu (2001) and Mguni (2007) are of the view that South Africa
is one of the leading countries in Africa in terms of self help low income housing. In support of
14. 2
this view UN habitat (2005) asserts that, in South Africa there are a number of low income
finance societies which have cooperatives as members and construction is undertaken by private
developers. There are federations in South Africa which provide technical and financial support
to the low income home seekers. The goal is to help these people develop their homes and thus
reducing the housing problem (ibid). In Zimbabwe and in Harare at large where urbanisation is
surpassing real property development, cooperative housing is believed to be the only avenue left
to save the urban poor from housing wows.
1.1 BACKGROUND
When Zimbabwe attained independence in 1980, the Government adopted a socialist approach
to housing provision which saw the state as the provider of finished dwellings to the poor.
However, due to resource constraints the approach did not achieve a sustainable means to
housing delivery. According to the National Housing Policy (NHP) of 2000 the housing stock
deficit increased from 20 000 to 1000 000 units during the period from 1995 to 1999. According
to Chaeruka (2009), Vakil (1995,1996), Auret (1995) and Tibaijuka (2005) Since independence
the Zimbabwean government has adopted a number of housing policies which include site and
service policy, home ownership for the majority, National Housing Fund, Building brigades and
Housing cooperatives as well as creation of waiting lists. As noted by Tibaijuka (2005) “serious
shortfalls in housing delivery were recognized by the National Housing delivery Policy (NHP)
of 2000 which acknowledged a cumulative backlog of over one million housing units.” She
went further to say that, the National Housing Program of 2003 noted that Government plans for
housing fell far short of the annual target of 162,000 units between 1985 and 2000 with actual
production ranging between 15,000 and 20,000 units per annum and by 2002 only 5,500 plots
were serviced in eight major urban areas compared to an estimated annual demand of 250,000
units.
As a result the government decided to involve the private developers in low income housing.
However, private actors were profit oriented; their housing units were only afforded by the rich
while the poor were left out. After realising that the urban low income groups were not
benefiting from private developers’ housing schemes and the state failed to supply adequate
housing for the poor, the government then decided to venture into public-private partnerships
15. 3
(PPPs). With PPPs, the state in collaboration with international organisations such as the World
Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) provided sites and services while the beneficiaries developed housing
units on their own. According to the NHP (2000), the World Bank and USAID housing
programmes ended in 1999 and 2000 respectively and this coincided with the economic decline
of the Zimbabwean economy. The economic meltdown effects were compounded by the spoiled
international relationships between the Zimbabwean Government and the international society.
This further crippled the state’s ability to provide housing to the urban poor. As a result housing
cooperatives were born out of the initiative by the urban poor to lobby Government for their
housing needs, a move to seek affordable and sustainable housing delivery strategies.
Upon realising the potential of housing cooperatives in housing services delivery, the
Government decided to play an enabling role for the operation of the cooperatives. Munyoro
(2009) asserts that, the Zimbabwean Government has directed thirty percent (30%) of the land
that was acquired for housing development to be allocated to community based organisations
(CBOs) and other partners in housing development. This policy initiative has seen sixty six
percent (66%) of the 277 7000 stands acquired under the National Housing Delivery Program of
2004 to 2008 being allocated to CBOs.
Munyoro (2009) went on to say that, local authorities are now being realistic by allowing CBOs
to incrementally develop the green lands they would have allocated to these CBOs. With
housing cooperatives achieving a fairly appreciable level of development, local authorities are
now permitting incremental development; that is, one is allowed to construct at least a habitable
room and basic sanitary service (toilet) and stays there while he or she proceeds with the
development. Kagu (2009) states that, housing cooperatives in Harare have mobilised more than
40 000 active members, allocated 11 479 stands and managed to build 2 351 houses during the
period 1998-2008. Housing cooperatives continued to grow in Harare as the poor viewed them
as the only avenue to get access to housing but the Harare City Council (HCC) has failed to play
its part; that of providing site services. It (HCC) continues to face increased pressure from
CBOs and non governmental organisations (NGOs) demanding that site services be provided to
so as facilitate affordable housing for the urban poor.
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In response to this pressure, the HCC has decided to amalgamate the existing and well managed
housing cooperatives into one large consortium so that the apex cooperative can pool resources
together to service undeveloped land using their own resources. It is against this background
that the Current Housing Consortium in Budiriro was set up as a pilot project to test whether it
was noble for the organised cooperatives (consortium) to provide site services on their own with
only technical assistance from the HCC wherever necessary. It is generally believed that
combining housing cooperatives makes them a viable and economic option to deliver site
services. Nevertheless, less attention is given to the potential and real challenges associated with
such integration. Even if they are combined, the individual members of such a consortium may
lack the necessary skills and experience to manage the consortium operations. In addition,
combining people with different backgrounds and experiences can result in conflicts which can
hamper progress. Given the costs of site servicing, the low income groups constituting the
consortium may fail to raise enough resources to meet capital expenses for the provision of
roads, sewer, water and electricity.
1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT
When Current Housing Consortium managed to secure land, it appears as if the idea of
collective action in housing cooperatives was noble. However far from this observation,
combining housing cooperatives might not make any difference probably due to the fact that
even if the resources (human skills, materials, finance) are combined they might not be adequate
for the consortium to provide enough houses for every one. Instead of bringing perceived
advantages synergies might bring in more complex challenges. The complexity of the problems
might manifest themselves in the increasing queue of members waiting to be served. Grouping
of groups of low income home seekers might also mean that more people with limited
resources are brought together hence as noted by Lewis (1981), severe problems in planning,
construction financing, and administration of housing schemes may be encountered thus
resulting in housing delivery delays. Grouping of groups might also cause complexity probably
due to the fact that with in these varied groups there are individuals with various income levels
and perceptions hence management and coordination of these members might become a
problem as more conflicts might be encountered.
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1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of cooperative synergism, in a bid to inform
policy and cooperative management practice.
The specific objectives are to:
a) Identify membership and establishment of Current housing consortium.
b) Describe perceived advantages of coalition by Current Housing Consortium household
members.
c) Explain policy aspects on cooperative housing in Harare.
d) Critique perceived challenges and constrains of synergies in Current Housing Consortium.
1.4 ACADEMIC JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY
Though the pace of research on cooperative housing in Zimbabwe has increased over the
past decade, there is still very little empirical work on cooperative consortia effects. Despite
the vast research literature on cooperative housing (Chirisa and Munzwa, 2008; Butcher,
1990; Vakil, 1995, 1996; Hakizuwera, 2007; Mguni, 2007; Nyashanu, 2001; Mubvami, nd;
Munzwa, 1999; Hall, nd and Chenga, 1993) there still remains an unfilled knowledge gap on
the effectiveness of aggregating existing housing cooperative societies for the purpose of
delivering site services. This research tries to explore the usefulness of amalgamating
housing cooperatives for site servicing.
1.5 RATIONAL OF THE STUDY
The rationale of this study has been structured to:
a) Contribute to academic debate by paying attention to challenges associated with synergies
in housing cooperatives.
b) Reflect to stakeholders and community how synergies in housing cooperatives can or can
not create complex problems.
c) Inform policy makers to formulate policies that reduce problems associated with
cooperative housing.
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1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
For the purpose of this study, Current Housing Consortium in Harare, Zimbabwe shall be
considered as the case study. The housing consortium is located in Budiriro 5 South-east of the
shopping centre and it marks the boundary between Budiriro and Mufakose. Special
consideration will be given to the management of the consortium and challenges associated with
merging the housing cooperatives from the time it (Current Housing Consortium) was
established up to now.
1.7 DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS
For the purpose of this research project given the fact that the meaning of words do change with
place and time, the following words shall have working definitions so that there is effective
communication between the researcher and any one who read this dissertation:
Synergy: Doctoroff (1977) defined a synergy as a cooperation of two or more things to produce
combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects. According to Corning (1998), a
synergy is a cooperative or working together of two or more people, organizations or things
especially when the result is greater than the sum of individual capabilities .In this case, a
synergy is the cooperative action between housing cooperatives with the aim of serving
members effectively and strengthening the cooperative movement.
Housing cooperative: This is an organization owned and run by its members with benefits
shared among them (UN-Habitat, 2001). According to Chirisa and Munzwa (2008), a housing
cooperative is an organization of underprivileged people who pool their resources towards
achieving a common goal. Sheng (2000) postulated that, housing cooperatives are bona fide
groups of beneficiaries working for the purpose of each member’s house. They pool their
resources together (finance, labour, building materials, tools and equipment in an effort to lower
housing costs. ILO (1966) in UN Habitat (2001) defined a housing cooperative as an association
of groups of beneficiaries or potential home owners who pool their resources together for the
purpose of building their houses more cheaply. For the purpose of this study, a housing
cooperative is an organization of underprivileged home seekers who organize themselves for the
purpose of building houses for their members more cheaply.
19. 7
Consortium: This is an association of several companies (Soanes, 2001). McAuslan (1985) is
of the notion that a consortium is a combination of organizations for a common purpose that is
beyond the capabilities of a single member or group. In this case a housing consortium is a
combination of housing cooperatives for the development of housing units for the members.
Management: This is a process of acquiring and combining human, financial, informational
and physical resources to attain the organization’s primary goal (Turner, 1980). It can also be
defined as the skilful use of resources. For the sake of this study management is a skilful use of
human resources, financial resources, material resources, and informational resources for
cooperative housing development.
Community Based Organisations: Kagu (2009) defined them as organized
communities. Mguni (2007) gave a more elaborate definition by defining them as
groups of individuals who come together for a common purpose. In this study CBOs
are groups of low income people who organize themselves with the aim of developing
their own houses.
Housing: According to Bourne (1981), housing is a series of processes through which
habitable, stable and sustainable public and private environments are created for
households and communities. Petchmark (2002) defined housing as a physical facility,
unit and structure which provides shelter to its occupants but which also consumes land
and demands the provision of physical services such as roads, water, sewerage as well
as social services to households. In this research housing refers to dwellings and
physical structures which are needed in urban residential areas.
1.8 ORGANISATION OF THE STUDY
This research study is divided into five major chapters. Chapter 1 focuses on problem
identification and problem definition; Chapter 2 is a reference point where the
researcher reviewed views of other authorities on the subject under study. Methods and
strategies which were used for data collection and analysis are given in Chapter three.
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The findings of this study are presented in Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 concludes the
research and the recommendations are also given in this concluding chapter
1.9 CHAPTER CONCLUSION
In rhetoric cooperative synergism appear to be attractive in delivering housing and related
infrastructure which include electricity, roads, sewer and water; however this might have
complex challenges in reality which needs to be adjusted and addressed so as to achieve greater
success. Cooperative synergism has been pursued globally to complement or in some cases
replace government service delivery systems. Whilst it has been done successfully in other
countries, in Zimbabwe, Harare in particular, the concept is still at the experimental stage. This
research then therefore seeks to reveal the effectiveness of synergism in housing in the light of
challenges using the case of Current Housing Consortium in Budiriro. The purpose of this
chapter has been to introduce the concept of synergism with special consideration to low income
housing cooperatives. Meanwhile Chapter two will deal with a review of related relevant
literature on cooperative organizations and on synergism.
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CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.0 INTRODUCTION
This chapter discusses the body of knowledge on cooperative management and on cooperative
synergism issues trough gathering of references from different academics and practitioners who
offer a variety of literature related to synergism in housing societies. It reviews some of the
important facts about cooperative synergism in the existing line of thought. In this study
relevant examples from both developed and developing countries are given and discussed. The
whole conceptual framework is then narrowed down to the Zimbabwean context, situation and
experience with special attention being offered to Harare. This is because Harare is the major
key of the case study in question.
2.1 THE CONCEPT OF COOPERATIVE SYNERGISM
The term synergy is derived from a Greek word Syn-ergos meaning working together (Corning
1983; 1998; 2003). According to Doctoroff (1977) literally synergies are the effects produced
by things that operate together (parts or individuals) and the term is frequently associated with
the slogan “the combined is greater than the sum of its parts”. Corning (1998) asserts that
synergism is the combined (interdependent) effects produced by two or more parts, elements or
individuals.
Scholars have looked at the concept of cooperative synergism from different angles. O’connell
(1989) considered cooperative synergism as the combined effort between governments, the
private sector, community based organisations and non-governmental organisations towards
meeting the housing needs of the poor. Hakizuwera (2007) looked at cooperative synergism as
the partnerships between housing community based organisations and supporting non-
governmental organisations. Also Stein and Vance (2008) as well as Stavrakakis (2000)
considered cooperative synergism to be the mutual relationship between lending institutions and
housing cooperative societies. In this research study a different angle of cooperative synergism
is taken where by cooperative synergism refers to the combination of individual housing
cooperatives to form a large consortium.
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Figure 1: Conceptual framework for cooperative synergism
Source: adapted from Sada (2007:69)
As shown in Figure 1 it is generally believed that combining housing cooperatives to make a
consortium is making them viable. However chances are that even if there will be cooperative
action among cooperatives, their resources may still be inadequate for buying enough land and
servicing it hence the difference might be the same. Also even if they work as a team, the
cooperative members may lack the necessary skills to manage construction and this may result
in increased tension as a result of combining people with varied backgrounds. Given this
scenario then can synergies work in low-income housing delivery?
Are there
enough
resources?
SO DOES IT
WORK?
Provide
services
Buy some land
Complexity
Consortium
operations
Does combining
resources make
a difference?
Evidence
There is no
difference
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2.2 CONSOTIA OF ORGANISATIONS (HOUSING COOPERATIVES)
According to Mahammed and Kirm (1994), the idea of combining organisations evolved during
the 9th
century. Business organisations operating in the similar line of business were involved in
unions (consortia) and they achieved great success which excided individual capacity. Realising
benefits of business consortia, governments in various countries adopted this strategy (ibid). As
noted by Petchmark (2002) the housing consortia were successfully applied in nations like
India, China and the United Kingdom. In Zimbabwe the idea is still ‘new’ hence there is need
for research to test, modify and fine tune it to suite the Zimbabwean environment.
2.2.1 Advantages of cooperation of housing cooperatives
According to Taimni (1978) major advantages of cooperative synergism include among others
that;
a) Members have to raise less capital for their share contributions that is members tend to
benefit from economies of scale.
b) The cooperative potentials with regard to leadership, enthusiasm and many more, are
not split but are concentrated in one society.
c) There is usually reduction in the cost per unit produced or turned over, as
administration costs will be reduced by being spread over several members.
d) Widstrand (1972) contended that only the formation of a consortium can increase
viability of cooperative activities which otherwise could not be carried out.
2.2.2 Challenges of combined housing cooperatives
There are also demerits to cooperative synergism as noted by other scholars.
Treacy (1984) and Taimni (1978) agree on the view that synergies in housing cooperatives are
also associated with challenges which include among others that;
The burden put on the management is considerably heavier that in the primary society
and with increasing size there is the danger that proper control of the society may be lost.
The dispersal of effort often leads to the neglecting of certain activities especially for the
management committee.
The exact cost of correctly allocating the overhead expenses is high.
24. 12
It may be difficult to create a team spirit, due to the fact that highly diverse interests and
backgrounds are brought together.
Conflicting interests may arise with in the membership.
More delays may arise due to the fact that more people with limited resources and
various interests and backgrounds are brought together hence individuals who build
using own resources can progress in much better way than the consortium.
Morley cited by Widstrand (1972) is of the view that “…small cooperatives account for
a more intimate relationship between members, fruits of which are a greater willingness
to accept discipline since this is self imposed and a greater willingness to subscribe
capital, since the advantages of doing so are more direct and immediately apparent”.
2.3 POLICY AND COOPERATIVE SYNERGISM
A policy is a set of plans or actions that are agreed by a government or other organizations
(Macmillan 2006). According to UN Habitat (1989), while each country has its own particular
context which influences the nature of cooperative housing there are features of cooperative
housing which are common to many countries. It goes further by saying that the governments of
many industrialized countries have taken many years to organize cooperative housing at the
local level and to organize regional as well as national supporting institutions and to promote
and set in place a supporting policy and institutional framework. In support of this argument UN
Habitat (2001) in Nyashanu (2001) postulated that in more developed cooperative housing
systems in Europe and North America, the supporting organizations often acquire land first
before identifying a cooperative which might like to use it.
The increase in mutual self help housing in developing countries has come about partly because
of the failure of other systems of housing delivery to provide sufficient housing. (UN Habitat
2008). Sharing the same idea is Sheng (2000:65) who said that, governments in the developing
nations tried to implement a housing policy by executing a series of low income housing
projects but the projects almost ran into difficulties. Stein and Vance (2008) observed that
during the 1980s a fundamental shift regarding the role of the state from being a provider of
housing solutions to becoming an enabler of housing provision took place as part of the broader
structural adjustment policies promoted by international funding agencies. The states’
25. 13
responsibilities in this case are to set norms and regulations as well as to facilitate core funding
including new forms of subsidies for the provision of land and basic infrastructure.
UN Habitat (2000) cited by Nyashanu (2001) pointed out that, in Tanzania loans at subsidies
rates are available for low income housing ,in Kenya there has for many years, a small but
thriving credit market for cooperative housing. In Egypt and Zambia a National Housing Bank
was established to promote the building of housing especially for the poor (ibid).
As noted by Vakil (1995), the Government of Zimbabwe in 1985 through circular number 81
directed all urban councils to promote cooperatives in their areas of jurisdiction. She went on to
say that, HCC then like many other urban local authorities established a cooperative unit within
the Housing Department whose responsibility is to initiate and plan Housing cooperatives.
2.3.1. The legislative, regulative and supportive environment
Butcher (1990, 1986), states that, the existence of cooperatives in Zimbabwe is not a new one;
in 1956 the Cooperative Societies Act (chapter 193) was passed establishing the legal basis for
the formation and registration of cooperatives. Chirisa and Munzwa (2008) assert that the legal
framework in which housing cooperatives are currently functioning in Zimbabwe is the
Cooperative Societies Act (Chapter 24.04) of 1990 which provided for the formation,
registration and dissolution of cooperative societies. The Urban Councils Act (Chapter 29:15) of
1996 also provide for the establishment of Housing Cooperatives in an urban setup1
.
According to Mubvami (nd) by the 1990s because the cooperative concept was still new to the
housing sector it required substantial efforts to ‘sell’ the concept and advocate for adaptation of
various by-laws of the Ministry of National Affairs, Employment Creation and Cooperatives,
the building societies and local authorities. It was only in 1989 that the Harare City Council,
Ministry of Construction, and Ministry of Local Government agreed to set up suitable by-laws
(Hall not dated).
1
Section 222 subsection 1 and 2
26. 14
Chenga (1993) postulated that, following a seminar in July 1995 , cooperative model by-laws to
govern housing cooperatives were produced and put in use by December that year In addition a
policy guideline document has been produced by the Ministry of National Affairs, Employment
Creation and Cooperatives in 1996 which lays down broad guidelines on the size of
membership, membership composition, fundraising activities, allocation of houses ,size of
houses to be constructed, engagement of contractors and determination of member
contributions
According to Hall (nd), Housing People of Zimbabwe was formed in 1992 to negotiate with the
local authorities and Government Ministries to push them to adapt its by-laws so that some
fundamental constraints faced by housing cooperatives will be eliminated.
Taimni (1978) and Lewis (1981) contended that cooperative by-laws should be amended from
time to time according to the needs and requirements of the housing cooperatives. The by-laws
must deal with the following issues, objectives, membership, rights and duties of members, the
funds of the society, accounting regulation and the institution of the society. The by-laws of the
housing cooperatives must therefore supplement cooperative legislation, regulating those
aspects of funding, administration and organization which have not adequately specified and
offered solutions to the legal problems which may face the society.
Other laws and regulations affecting housing cooperatives as noted by Lewis (1981) include:
Laws concerning land tenure and registration
Laws and regulations concerning planning and design ,construction standards, and the
use of building materials, as well as other rules and regulations issued by local
authorities
Laws relating to the issue of contract and agreements
Regulations concerning the provision and supply of water and electricity
Laws concerning registration and taxes or charges.
The formation of consortia in cooperatives is provided by Section 38 of the Cooperative
Societies Act (Chapter 24:05)2
.
2
Subsection 3 and 4 of the Cooperative Societies Act (Chapter 24:05) allows existing housing cooperatives to
form a secondary cooperative.
27. 15
2.4 MEMBERSHIP AND ESTABLISHMENT OF HOUSING COOPERATIVES
The Cooperative Societies Act (Chapter 24:05) and the Harare Housing Cooperative Bylaws
provides that a person qualifies to be a member of a cooperative society if he/she attained the
age of eighteen , is a citizen of or is ordinarily resident in Zimbabwe and has satisfied
requirements with regard to residence , employment , profession or other matters provided by
the by-laws. Section 12 and 13 of the Cooperative Societies Act (Chapter 24:05) provides that
a cooperative can be formed by a minimum of ten natural beings. Commenting on these
provisions Chirisa and Munzwa (2008) reiterated by arguing that married couples can not
join as a household but will rather have to decide on who should, between them become a
registered member.
Mguni (2007) noted that, housing cooperatives are established either at workplace or within a
community. Chirisa and Munzwa (2008) defined a workplace based cooperative as a society
whose source of cohesion is found on the fact that, one employer employs the members; they
went on to say that individual community members who are normally households form the
community based cooperatives. According to Vakil (1995), community based Housing
Cooperatives comprises of people living or working in the same neighbourhood.
2.4.1 Why housing cooperatives amalgamate
Housing cooperatives do not just decide to work together for the sake of being together but there
are “push and pool factors”, this section shows the reasons behind cooperative action.
According to UN-Habitat (1989) a combination of housing cooperatives brings together
individual building builders so that they can pool their finance, organizational skills and labour,
thus reducing the cost of construction. It goes further to say that it is hoped that a cooperative
consortium promise to provide a system whereby finance and building materials can be
delivered to organized which take substantial responsibility for construction. Also as noted by
UN-Habitat (2000), a group of housing cooperatives can lobby more effectively with
government and other stake holders for their rights to be heard, thus utilizing the political
processes.
28. 16
2.5 COOPERATIVE MANAGEMENT IN THEORY AND PRACTISE
In most cases there is a disjuncture of what theory says and what is actually done in practice, is
it possible to ‘marry’ theory to practice when managing consortia of home seekers?
2.5.1 Cooperative management in theory:
According to Turner (1980), housing cooperatives are different from other organizations in that
they are not after profit so the management of this type of organization requires the combination
of social and human schools of management. Mahammed and Kirm (1994) identified two key
areas of cooperative management as administration of resources and allocation of housing to
members.
a) Administration
Basing on the views of UN Habitat (1989) normally there should be a general committee which
oversees the activities of a cooperative. Taimni (1978) is of the noted that, this committee is
elected by a general meeting of members. He also goes further to say that the organization of
construction is often carried out by one or more subcommittees depending on local
circumstances and the complexity of the task.
b) Allocation of houses
UN Habitat (2001) observed that; Experience has shown that it is better to build all the houses
together rather than completing one and having it occupied. The member who is able to occupy
the house finished first may be less inclined to work on the other uncompleted houses once he or
she has a house. Also Chenga (1993) noted that, it is normally more efficient to build in stages
that are from clearance, foundation walls then roofs.
29. 17
2.5.2 Cooperative management in practice
This section shall cite case studies to show the way in which housing cooperatives are being
managed.
Box 1 Tashinga Housing Cooperative (THC)
Ms E. Kuchidzemhandu the founder member of this cooperative was made the formation committee
chairperson and was later made a substantive chairperson of the cooperative. Out of the cooperative’s
leadership of nine members, only three women were in the management committee. The open membership
principle was considered in terms of resident and occupational requirements. The formation committee
agreed that the cooperative would have a limited membership, members have to be residents of Mabelreign
and be domestic workers ,members must not be house owners in Harare, members had to pay a stipulated
non-refundable joining fee, all members had to attend monthly contributions and that all members had to
benefit equitably if not equally.
Source: Chirisa and Munzwa 2008 , Munzwa 1999
As shown in Box 1 the founder member of Tashinga Housing Cooperative was influential in
governance of the cooperative. Moreover the formations committee agreed to have a limited
number of members. So in the event of amalgamations some of the formations committee
members might be resistant to some principles of the secondary society which is formed after
amalgamation and this might cause conflicts which stifles development.
Box 2 Northern housing consortium
The Northern housing consortium (NHC) in England is a non profits making and non-political membership
organization. Full membership is drawn from local authorities and organizations involved in housing.
NHC’s primary role is to support and represent their members who are responsible for eighty-six percent of
social housing in the Northern province.
Source: Northern-consortium (2010)
This (Box 2) case shows that cooperative action can go a long way in housing the urban poor
and in building their capacity. Forming a consortium may strengthen the capacity of housing
cooperatives. But if cooperative synergism worked in UK, can it also work in Zimbabwe given
the variations in political and economic environments?
30. 18
Box 3 Kugarika Kushinga Housing Cooperative (KKHC)
The cooperative employed a project manager, one receptionist, two accounts clerks and one book keeper. A
contractor was used to service the land and the cooperative used its own contractor on a ‘fix and supply’
basis for the first 20 houses; after that it used the Ministry of Public Construction to build 341 houses. The
cooperative once bought an omnibus as an income generating project but however it is now out of order.
The leaders of the cooperative hold monthly meetings with officers from the Cooperative Development
Department to try to overcome bureaucratic delays during the time of implementation.
Source; Hakizuwera, 2007:46
Box 3 shows that housing CBOs can employ professional constructors and pay them using their
own resources but however given varied capital levels and varied interests between co-
operators, combining housing cooperatives might cause conflicts. This might cause less
willingness by co-operators to accept discipline since it will not be self imposed and lesser
willingness to subscribe capital since the advantages of doing so are less direct and not
immediately apparent.
2.6 SOURCES OF FINANCE
It is believed that housing cooperatives form an apex board such that they can pool their
resources together for the development of their living environments. It is worth to note where
and how do housing cooperatives obtain financial and other resources. The cooperative takes
decisions basing on what the members can afford to pay from their savings and what they afford
to borrow (UN Habitat 1989). Nyashanu (2001) noted that, housing cooperatives normally
obtain their funds for housing development from the member’s funds, loan capital and from
support organisations.
2.6.1 Members’ funds: UN Habitat (2001; 2008) asserts that member’s funds are normally
contributed in the form of share capital. It also noted that if the cooperative intends to take a
long term loan to finance construction, contributions from members are a fixed proportion of the
loan. According to (UN Habitat, 1989) there are many strategies used by members to raise the
necessary capital which include borrowing from family and friends or from credit.
31. 19
2.6.2 Loan Capital: According to Nyashanu (2001) cooperative members can borrow from
financial institutions which are involved in property development. Sheng (2000) noted that it
can be easy for the urban poor to acquire loan as a group that as individuals
2.6.3 Support organizations: As noted by UN Habitat (1989) in many countries support
organizations which provide a range of services to housing cooperatives have been developed. It
goes further to say that in Canada housing cooperatives are served by independent resource
groups which acquire land and design different housing structures and in India there are a
number of cooperative housing finance societies which provide finance for cooperative housing.
According to Stein and Vance (2008) in Central America there are federations which provide
technical support to housing cooperatives. Kagu (2009) noted that, in Zimbabwe housing
cooperatives also get technical and financial assistance from non-governmental organizations
and Nyashanu (2001) contended that cooperative in Zimbabwe can obtain funds from the
Government and the international sources. The housing and building Act (Chapter 22:07)
establishes a Housing Guarantee Fund for the low income group.
2.7 LAND ACQUISITION
UN Habitat (1989) established two basic types of land access by housing cooperatives which
can be identified as;
Allocation by Government that is the state owns all land and various government
agencies allocate that land for housing. Land is transferred at no cost (excluding fees
and charges) or at a price determined by the Government.
Open market purchase where by the co-operators combine their resources and
purchase land in the private market.
2.7.1 The urban low income group
According to UN Habitat (1989) housing cooperatives are the products of the low-income group
who are willing to develop their own houses but can not afford to do so as individuals. As an
elaboration to this point Sheng (2000) observed that the urban low-income group is
characterized by households that are employed on a more or less regular basis but at low levels
of remuneration and this encompasses unskilled or semi-skilled workers. Hakizuwera (2007)
32. 20
also noted that the majority of the low-income urbanites have no formal employment and earn
their living from vending and other informal activities. Stavrakakis et al (2008) argues that the
low income group usually lack access to affordable finance. Sharing the same views are Sheng
(2000) and Petchmark (2002) who believes that the formal sector financial institutions seldom
lend down-market to serve the needs of the low-income as they consider them to be too poor to
save in a bank. According to UN Habitat (2004) the low-income group is excluded from many
formal systems as they are not in regular employment and deemed to have insufficient income ,
though they may have sufficient through informal sources.
Brooks et al (2008) and Sheng (2000) are of the view that experience shows that the low-
income people are capable of saving small amounts and of repaying micro-loans in time using
their informal activities or unskilled labour. UN Habitat (2004) observed that most of the low
income people are illiterate or semiliterate so it is very difficult for them to understand the
cooperative by-laws and other cooperative issues which are in written form. Vakil (1995) noted
that community based housing cooperatives appear to be particularly attractive to women whose
options are frequently more limited than men.
2.9 THE HOUSING COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
Housing delivery in the cooperative movement is a process rather than an event. Chirisa and
Munzwa (2008) as well as Butcher (1990) outlined the cooperative development process which
influences the formation of housing cooperatives as shown in Fig 1;
The stages can be shown by the flow diagram in figure 2
33. 21
Figure 2: Development of housing cooperatives
Source: Chirisa and Munzwa (2008)
Figure 1 shows the development of a housing cooperative from stage 1-8. Taking stages 6 and 7
the questions which need to be answered is, Are the resources adequate for developing houses
for every member?, If we combine the existing societies does it mean that the resources will be
enough?, With an increase in membership does it not increase queuing of members?, So does
combining housing cooperatives make any positive change?
2.9.1 Cooperative synergism and individual members
Brook (2008) carried research in India to establish the perceptions of cooperative members on
working as a group of cooperatives (consortium) He discovered that most of the members
willing to work as a consortium. Treacy (1984) however noted that those who are informally
employed are the ones who favoured team work as compared to those who are formally
employed.
2. Formative
creation of
committee
and
membership
3. Pre-
registration
education
of
cooperative
4.
Preparation
of
cooperative
by-laws
6.
Mobilisation
of material
and financial
resources
7
Identification
& acquisition
of land for
project
8
Development
of housing
units
1. Identification of
need to form a
housing
cooperative
5.
Registration
of housing
cooperatives
34. 22
2.10 CHAPTER CONCLUSION
Having said what cooperative synergism is all about, where it works its success as well as its
challenges in addressing low income housing provision; one can come to a conclusion that the
synergism might be associated with more complex challenges than solutions. The following
chapter (Chapter 3) is the methodology of the research project; it shows the road map which
shall be followed by the researcher as well as the limitations which the researcher anticipates
and encountered during the course of the study.
35. 23
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.0 INTRODUCTION
This Chapter provides procedures upon which the research was based on and against which
claims for knowledge about cooperative synergism are explored. The literature reviewed in
Chapter two assisted the researcher to choose relevant data collection methods and procedures.
During the actual survey, the researcher contacted members of CHC and interviewed them and
he also interviewed key informants from City of Harare as well as from Government Ministries
which are involved in cooperative housing.
3.1 RESEACH PARADIGM
Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used in this research project. In this
study, qualitative research techniques and methods were used to identify, interpret and analyze
the challenges which are associated with synergies in housing cooperatives. Quantitative data
were modelled and data analyzed by use of frequency distribution, classification of data,
diagrams such as histograms and bar charts, pie charts, pictograms, statistical calculations such
as mean, medium, mode percentage and standard deviation techniques. In this study the
qualitative research techniques were used to identify the size of the consortium, stand sizes and
to analyze the composition of the consortium in terms of age, sex and educational level. Moreso
this technique was used to identify challenges associated with synergism in housing cooperative
societies. A combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods was also used
(triangulation). By using triangulation, quality results can be obtained due to the fact that, the
advantages of one research method will cater for the disadvantages of the other.
3.2 TARGET POPULATION
The population under spotlight are the members of CHC, which is made up of eleven
cooperative members with a total of 656 individual members (refer to appendix 4).
36. 24
3.3 SAMPLING PROCEDURE
It was necessary to take a representative sample of 10% of the total members due to resource
and time constraints. Stratified random sampling was used to select the cooperative
representation due to the fact that membership representation of member cooperatives of CHC
was not uniform. Convenient sampling was also used to determine members who participated
during the research that is, only those who where easily accessible during the research period
participated in this research project. Snow boll sampling technique was also used to select
participants where-by the first respondents assisted the researcher to locate other members of the
same cooperative. After determining the location of all members of each cooperative the
researcher then used stratified random sampling to select the actual respondents. To select the
sample size a formula from Bracken (1981:169) was used which is,
f=n/N
Where f =sample proportion
N =total population
n =sample size
In this case F =10%, N =656
Therefore n is equal to 10%=n/656
n=0.1/656
n=65.6
Since there is no half person the research used sixty six (66) members of CHC as the sample
population. Each cooperative member consisted of different number of members hence the
respondents were chosen depending on the membership representation (see apex 5) in CHC and
the number of interviewees per cooperative are shown in table 1.
37. 25
Table 1: CHC sample representation:
Cooperative Frequency Percentage
Emerald Hill School for the deaf 6 9.1
Carnand metal box 3 4.4
Gold igloo 4 6.1
Tamuka 7 9.9
Rufaro marketing 6 9.0
Tapiwanashe 6 9.5
Vimbainesu 9 13.6
Five stars 10 14.8
Tower light 3 5.2
Tregers 4 6.6
Winfield 8 11.6
Total 66 100
Source: Research survey, 2010
The researcher interviewed half of the twenty two member management body of CHC; this
sample allowed equal representation of all cooperative members as each cooperative member is
represented by two members. Purposive systematic random sampling was used to select key
informants respondents as only those individuals and institutions involved in cooperative
housing were selected as respondents.
3.4 DATA COLLECTION METHODS
In carrying out this research, two main sources of data were used that is primary data and
secondary data.
3.4.1 Primary data
The field surveys made use of field observation, interviews and questionnaire surveys. The
researcher also administered questionnaires, captured photographs and attended informal
meetings with the leadership of CHC.
a) Questionnaires: To enable comparison of specific types of information, a survey was
conducted using structured questionnaires at both consortium level and cooperative level.
Structured questionnaires were important for making comparisons between cooperatives
38. 26
and individuals in different housing cooperatives members of CHC. Most of the questions
asked to general cooperative members were close-ended; that is the respondents were
allowed to choose from a set of answers that closely represent their views (see Appendix 1)
and were asked in shone (vernacular language) so that the interviewees could easily
understand. A total of 66 questionnaires were administered to cooperative members and 11
were administered to the management members. Questionnaires for the management
members were dominated by open-ended questions which enabled the respondents to give
detailed data about how they feel and think concerning cooperative synergism. The
researcher and his assistants translated the questions to the respondents and recorded the
responses on the questionnaire on behalf of the respondents. On other questions the research
team was forced to probe since the respondents seems not to comprehend. The research
team was made up of ten members (colleagues from the Department of Rural and urban
Planning doing their final year) and each member was asked to interview at least six
respondents. Some of the interviewers were not experienced in conducting a survey so they
were briefed first by the researcher and a pilot of six questionnaires was done. The pilot led
to the decision to undertake the survey over the weekends and to conduct interviews
individually. Only household heads or their partners were interviewed using the following
criteria age, sex, employment, educational level and household size.
b) Interviews: Various authorities and institutions involved in cooperative housing were
interviewed to ascertain background information on cooperative synergism. Pre-coded
questions were used to guide the research for the sake of uniformity of questions as well as
possible responses and for easy comparison of respondents’ answers. Due to the fact that the
researcher assumed that the key informants are well versed in issues of cooperative synergism
he asked them open-ended questions so that he does not limit the interviewees. Key informants
who were interviewed are officials from City of Harare (HCC) especially from the Department
of Housing, officials from the Ministry of National Housing and Social Amenities (MNHSA),
Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).
c) Observational surveys: During the survey the research team toured the site and observed the
achievements by CHC. Moreso the researcher attended three management meetings by CHC
39. 27
and observed the way in which issues were being solved. Observation was also done
simultaneously with questionnaires and interviews whereby the researcher observed the spatial
behaviour and extra-linguistic behaviour of the respondents when they were explaining issues
that is he simply looked at the body movements including facial expressions and emotions.
Observation also helped the researcher to locate activities and at the same time broaden his
knowledge on the subject understudy. The researcher also assumed that observation avoids the
subjective element that is present when people are questioned.
d) Photographs: Photographs were taken (see plates 1-4) to complement data which was collected
through other means, that is, interviews, questionnaires and observation, field notes were taken
through the assistance of two interviewers.
e) Survey: The actual survey was done on a Saturday between 11am and 3pm, Saturday was
considered to be conducive since most of the respondents were not going to work on weekends
and the period between 11am and 3pm was believed to be a period where respondents have
finished their sanitary work.
3.4.2 Secondary data collection
In this study second hand information was used to augment data obtained from primary sources.
The researcher consulted membership registers of CHC, financial records of CHC, minutes of
the meetings of CHC, reports and other documents from MNHSA, MSME and HCC. Also the
researcher consulted newspaper articles covering issues of cooperative housing from the period
2003-2010, journals, internet and dissertations.
3.5 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
During the survey period, respect was given to the moral values of different respondents. It was
noted that interviewees were sensitive to questions pertaining their age, educational level, and
income levels. On age and education estimation was used basing on the responses of the
interviewee and physical appearance and on income level the researcher provided a scale where
the respondents can choose than to ask the actual total monthly income. Respondents were
concerned about the intention of this research project so before all interviews the researcher
40. 28
introduced himself and produced a letter of approval from The Department of Rural and Urban
Planning (DRUP), and his student identification card.
3.6 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
During the research period a number of challenge were encountered which include among
others unavailability of respondents to give adequate information, time constraints and the
socio-political environment which were not be conducive for carrying out a research.
3.6.1 Unavailability of respondents: Because the research was of little benefit (financial
returns) to the respondents some of them were not willing to sacrifice their time for the
interview. Respondents especially from Government Ministries and HCC seem to be very busy,
at one point of time the respondent managed to participate on the fifth day of appointment. To
deal with this problem relevant persons were given the option of giving a convenient date and
time for the interview through the phone.
3.6.2 Resource constrains: Given the fact that currently in Zimbabwe very few people and/or
organizations are willing to sponsor academic research projects, finance for undertaking this
study was a challenge. This forced the researcher to use personal resources where possible and
to use research methods which he considered to be less costly. As a result the researcher used
sampling instead of interviewing the whole population and was assisted by friends to minimize
the costs of carrying the research.
3.6.3 Inability of respondents to give enough information: The respondent at Budiriro
District Office refused to give detailed data as she feared that the information might be used for
purposes other than academic uses. She directed the researcher to the Town Clerk,
“I am an employee I might loose my job if I do not follow the correct channel of releasing information, go and get
an approval from the town Clerk”.
At the Town Clerk’s office officials said it was not the town Clerk’s duty to give an approval
and the procedure for one to be in a position to contact the Town Clerk needed more time of the
researcher so the researcher managed to do the research with out the ‘so called’ approval.
41. 29
However the researcher managed to secure the approval to do the research from other high
offices after the officials understood that the research was purely academic.
During the survey it was observed that all men were very keen to participate and did not present
many problems or reservations when responding to questions. On the other hand women were at
first very reluctant, It was however women who provided longest interviews as they provided
more elaborate answers even with limited probing. The reason behind women’s reluctance was
that due to the traditional and cultural beliefs in Zimbabwe and Africa at large, only family
heads can give vital information especially when it comes to dealing with strangers.
3.6.4 Time constraints: Since the researcher carried this study while expected to lectures, time
was a challenge. This is due to the fact that some respondents gave fixed time for the interviews
despite the fact that the researcher had other pressing academic issues during that time. Also
given the fact that the 2009 to 2010 academic year was with very short holidays, the research
project competed for time with other school work during the school days. As a solution the
researcher and his team carried the research mainly during the weekends and holidays.
Furthermore it was very difficult to contact some key informants, they gave an excuse that they
were busy so they have little time to spare for the research but some of the members were very
cooperative and willing to assist. As a solution the researcher gave options to the respondents to
propose the time they were free or to conduct an interviews over the phone.
3.6.5 Inability to get relevant documents: The much needed documents for this project from
HCC were difficult to get formally as officials at HCC said they no longer allow any external
researcher to access their documents. Due to this fact the researcher was forced to access the
documents through informal means where he was assisted by officials who were willing to help
but with out the approval of their superiors.
3.6.6 The socio-political environment: The research period was dominated by political
polarisation and the research was confronted with the limitation of suspicion whether it was a
pure academic research or it was a move to explore the failure of Government. The researcher at
one point was suspected to work in secret for an outside organisation. As a result the researcher
42. 30
brought with him a confirmation letter from the Department of Rural and Urban Planning and
his student identification card.
3.7 DATA ANALYSIS
Analysis was done continuously to identify emerging themes and develop them with further
interviews. Data were then corded in a summary sheet with the assistance of five interviewers
and presented in bar-graphs, charts, tables, pictures and other techniques (see Chapter 4) to
make analysis easy and for readers to easy understand the findings of this research. A statistic
computer program (excel) was used to manipulate and analyze the data.
3.8 VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY
It was the ultimate responsibility of the researcher to ensure that the data which was obtained in
this research was valid, reliable and viable. As a result the researcher collected primary data in
collaboration with secondary data. Secondary data was used to test the validity and reliability of
primary data. Various methods of primary data collection were used with household interviews
as the primary source. Other methods like field observation and key informant interviews were
used to crosscheck the reliability and validity of data from interviews with the required data also
observation marks the basis or reliability as well as validity of other methods of data collection.
3.9 CHAPTER CONCLUSION
This chapter presented various methods which were used to collect data for this research.
Various instruments were used to collect primary and secondary data and primary data and
secondary data were used to complement each other. Challenges which were encountered and
strategies used to overcome them were also highlighted. Table 2 is a research design matrix
which summarizes the research methodology. The Chapter which follows (Chapter 4) will be
the presentation and analysis of the research findings.
45. 33
CHAPTER 4: DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
4.0 INTRODUCTION
This Chapter presents information and data in the form of diagrams, charts, graphs, tables
as well as explanation and analysis of the findings from the research study. It discusses
findings in line with the objectives. The chapter combines the experiences of individual
members of various cooperatives making CHC, key informant views and researcher
observation to reveal the extent to which synergism work.
4.1 ESTABLISHMENT AND MEMBERSHIP OF CHC
4.1.1 Establishment
Current Housing Consortium (CHC) is a group of housing cooperatives which were
registered with the Ministry of Youth Gender and Employment creation (now it is the
mandate of the Ministry of Small to Medium Enterprises) and were in the Harare city
council housing waiting list. From this study it was revealed that, CHC is a brain child of
HCC (refer to Appendix 4). In establishing CHC, HCC considered the housing
cooperatives with a sound management of funds, training, accumulated funds and many
other factors. Cooperative members of CHC were given the responsibility by City of
Harare to venture into a pilot project to experiment if it was possible for organized
housing cooperative societies to provide roads, water and electricity on their own.
4.1.2 Membership
The cooperative members of CHC had varied experience, that is some of the members
were already involved in housing development these include Tamuka Housing
Cooperative which developed houses in Crowbrough by the year 2000, Vimbainesu
Housing Cooperative was in the process of managing housing development in Warren
Park since 2003, and Tregers Housing Cooperative from 2005 was involved in a parallel
housing development in Kuwadzana and at the CHC. However, for most of the members
eight out of the eleven it was their first time to venture into housing development, it was
also noted that, it was a novel thing in Harare for housing cooperative societies to be
allocated ‘green land’ for housing development. It can be fairly stated that, the concept of
cooperative synergism in Harare was a brain child of HCC to develop a home grown
46. 34
solution on addressing the accommodation blues. Table 3 shows the membership
composition of CHC.
Table 3: CHC membership composition
Cooperative Frequency Percentage
Emerald Hill School for the deaf 61 9.1
Carnand metal box 29 4.4
Gold igloo 41 6.1
Tamuka 65 9.9
Rufaro marketing 59 9
Tapiwanashe 62 9.5
Vimbainesu 89 13.6
Five stars 97 14.8
Tower light 43 5.2
Tregers 34 6.6
Winfield 76 11.6
Total 656 100
Source: Field survey 2010
As shown in Table 7, CHC consist of eleven cooperatives each with varied membership.
Five stars Housing Cooperative dominated in terms of membership and Tregers Housing
Cooperative, Carnand Metal Box Housing Cooperative and Tower Light Housing
Cooperative were with few memberships in the consortium. This research established that
those with little membership once acquired and developed housing stands prior to the
CHC project.
4.1.3 CHC founding reasons
This research established that due to resource constraints, the HCC failed to offer
serviced plots to home seekers, this was also noted by Kagu (2009) and Munyoro (2009).
The HCC observed the potential with organized housing societies to provide the requisite
services on their own. CHC is a pilot project by HCC to test the hypothesis that a group
of housing cooperatives, if equipped with adequate technical assistance and training on
financial management, construction management and leadership can be able to mobilize
47. 35
resources (funds, human skills and materials) to develop the site services (roads, water,
electricity and sewer) on their own. In terms of function, CHC is an apex board of eleven
housing cooperatives which is responsible for coordinating the development of site
services but it does not interfere in the day to day running of the its individual
cooperative members. If the development of site infrastructure is completed, CHC will
‘dissolve’ and each cooperative member will stand alone. Also after the housing
cooperatives construct housing units for all members, the housing cooperative societies
will also ‘dissolve’ and hand over the ownership of housing units to individual members3
.
4.2 HOUSEHOLD RESPONSES
During the survey, the members of CHC were interviewed individually and their
responses were also recorded independent of the management responses. A sample of 66
(10%) household was selected from 656 members of CHC due the fact that the research
period was limited, there were limited resources for the study and the researcher
depended on well wishers who were also supposed to do their business so this sample
size allowed the research to be done with the limited resources. The respondents
comprised of 30 men and 36 female as shown in Figure 3.
3
CHC can be classified as a limited housing cooperative
48. 36
Figure 3: Age sex representation of CHC respondents
Frequency
Age range
Of the sixty-six (66) questionnaires that were administered, forty-six percent (46%) were
answered by males and fifty-four (54%) were answered by female and the majority of the
male respondents were with in the age range of 38-48 while most of the female
respondents were with in the age range of 28-38. The dominance in women respondents
concurs with Vakil (1995) that, shelter is more of a primary need to women. This also
shows that the issue of housing was not an individual thing but a household issue as
shown by the fact that even the spouses were well versed with most of what was
happening on their housing cooperatives. It was also noted by Chirisa and Munzwa
(2008) when they said that the provisions of the Cooperative Societies Act in Zimbabwe
limit the participation of households as cooperative members whilst housing is
considered as a house hold need. The researcher was not limited to the members
appearing in the membership registers only but also their partners when those in the
registers were difficult to contact hence this resulted in more women participating as they
were available at home during the survey period. It was established that even if members
of CHC were registered as individuals as provided by section 38 subsection 1 of the
Cooperative Societies Act (Chapter 24:05), membership was more of household
membership as the family members help each other to raise the finance for cooperative
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
18-28 28-38 38-48 48-58 58+
female
male
49. 37
development (monthly contributions). This shows that cooperative synergism start at the
household level where family members combine resources to acquire a house, households
also combine to form a housing cooperative and at the cooperative level housing societies
combine their limited resources to form a housing apex organization (consortium).
Most of the respondents (both male and female) were married and fifty percent (50%) of
those who were single were either single parent (widowed or divorced). This may be
explained by the fact that, people are much interested in getting spacious houses where
they can stay with their family (father, children, mother and or extended families) after
marriage or when they have children. This is supported by the fact that sixty-eight (68%)
of the respondents cited high rental costs associated with an increase in space demand as
the family grows, as the reason which forced them to join housing cooperative societies.
As one member of Five-Stars Housing Cooperative explained,
I joined the housing cooperative to which I now belong because of the high costs of being a lodger. Due to
the fact that I was staying with my family as well as the other relatives, I needed at least six rooms. This
was beyond my reach as rent is paid per room, per month in urban areas. To me joining the cooperative
gives me an opportunity to have a house that suits my family requirements
This shows that cooperative synergism was brought as a result of the need to obtain own
house so as to cutback expenses on monthly rentals. Other mentioned that the major
reason for joining a cooperative was the desire to be landlords; they perceived that if they
mobilize resources they could be in a position to harness resources together for
developing their own houses with the membership into CHC as an added advantage.
Figure 4 is a diagrammatic representation to schematize the major reasons for joining
housing cooperatives as given by the respondents in the survey.
50. 38
Figure 4: Major reasons for joining a cooperative society
Source: Research findings, 2010
Sixty-seven (67%) percent of the respondent said that they joined the housing cooperatives they
currently belong to due to the fact that they discovered that as individuals they can not afford to
acquire housing given high capital which was needed. Financial resources refer to capital which
was required for acquiring housing,
Forty percent (40%) of the interviews were of the view that they joined housing cooperatives to
attain collective labour for housing construction. Human resources in this case means labour and
human skills needed for housing construction,
Twenty-four percent (24%) of the CHC participants highlighted the desire to get assistance from
other members as the main impetus which attracted them to be members of housing cooperatives.
Social capital in this case is used to refer to the assistance which members get from other
cooperative members as a result of working together. This involves financial assistance, as well as
assistance in human and material resources,
The majority of the CHC members who participated in this project (70%) believed that high cost
of land and construction materials forced them to join housing cooperatives. It was also believed
that those who assisted home seekers (Government and NGOs) were willing to assist mainly home
seekers which were organised as a group. In this case members were attracted to lobby
government using one voice to claim their housing needs.
Housing
cooperative
Physical
resources
(land and
building
materials)
Finance
Social capital
Human
resources
51. 39
As shown in Figure 3, the main impetus behind joining the different cooperatives can be
the desire to own a house with limited resources being the main pushing factors.
According to the research findings, most respondents (67%) cited limitations in financial
resources as one core factor which forced them to work as a team. Very high capital is
needed when acquiring housing property in urban areas hence given their low incomes,
most of the urban poor failed to ‘stand as individuals to claim their housing right.’ As a
result limited financial resources become a ‘pushing factor’ with the potential of
harnessing more resources as the ‘pooling factor’.
Moreso, other respondents felt that the need for diverse human skills played a crucial role
in their choice to join a housing cooperative society. It was established that the formation
of a cooperative increased the chances of combining people with varied experience and
skills. As a result they might use less out-sources of labour and more of their own labour.
Also its was believed that an increase in people with varied skills enhance the division of
labour, which is one crucial component of synergism as noted by Conning (1998)4
Social capital refers to the assistance which the individual members expected to get from
other colleagues during the times of need. In this case being a cooperative member is
more of hedging against unforeseen challenging times. Some of the respondents strongly
agreed on the verdict that as cooperative members, they were able to assist each other
especially given the fact that by the time of the research there was no external assistance.
As a result cooperative members were able to borrow resources from colleagues there by
increasing their capacity and capabilities to house themselves.
The other prime reason for housing ‘cooperativism’ as shown in Figure 3 was the desire
to acquire materials for developing housing. It was highlighted by sixty-seven (70%)
percent of the interviewees that being in a group allowed them to harness more financial
resources for acquiring land and building materials. Members believed that being in a
4
Ibid pointed out that, Marx in his writing traced the development of synergism from its roots in nature, up
to the complex division of labor experienced under capitalism.
52. 40
group of low-income home seekers allowed them to lobby Government, Non-
Government Organizations and other stakeholders in low-income housing.5
4.2.1 Education level and training of the respondents
Thirty-eight percent (38%) of the members of CHC attained Form two or Zimbabwe
Junior Certificate (ZJC) as their highest level of education, this justifies why most of the
members were employed as semi-skilled or unskilled workers in the informal sector or in
the formal sector mainly as tailors, painters, carpenters, cobblers, gardeners . Achieving
a junior certificate level might mean that the members were able to at least read and
write, however it might be very difficult for them to understand complex legal issues
involved is signing contracts, borrowing from lending institutions, applying for donor
funds and other complicated issues in written form especially business contracts and the
auditing of financial books by the management committees. This probably means that
most of the members of the members of CHC are more or less sleeping partners as they
might be reluctant to share their views in the day to day running of CHC thus illustrating
lack of active democracy. It was also established that twenty-three percent (23%) of the
respondents attained Grade Seven as their highest level of education, and were mainly
members of the Community Based Housing Cooperatives. Most (60%) of those with
Grade Seven as their highest educational level were builders, painters, cross boarder
traders as well as informal vegetable vendors. Of all those who said they poses Form four
or Form six most of them were the ones who were in the leadership of the CHC. This
present a ‘wealth of expertise and experience’ this probably contributed to the large
extent to the success of CHC. The educational level of CHC membership is shown in
Figure 5.
5
As a group the probability of selling their need to Government and other support institutions successfully
was high as compared to lobbing as individuals.
53. 41
Figure 5: Educational levels of CHC respondents
Source: Research findings, 2010
Twenty-three percent (23%) of the respondents said they attained Grade Seven,
Thirty-eight percent (38%) of the interviewees said they reached Form 2,
Eighteen percent (18%) said they reached Form 4,
Ten percent (10%) of the respondents said they reached Form 6,
Seven percent (7%) of the interviewees said they obtained a college certificate or diploma, and
Four percent (4%) of the respondents said they obtained a first Degree.
Twenty percent (20%) of the respondents admitted receiving training on leadership and
cooperative management from HCC and or from the Ministry of Youth Gender and
Employment Creation (MYGEC) and eighty percent (80%) said that they never received
any training. Those who said they receive training consisted of the existing leaders and
former leaders of various cooperative members of CHC. This might further influence the
rate of participation in CHC as those who are not trained felt that the trained ones knows
best (as they are well educated and trained) so there is a high probability that they just
leave most issues to the trained and educated members. It can be deduced that the
benefits of cooperative synergism when it comes to skills development might benefit only
the minority members who are also more educated. The effects of low levels of education
were particularly evident on Five-Stars Housing Cooperative which experienced
challenges with basic book-keeping and accounting in comparison with other colleague
members within CHC with better educated members. Forty percent (40%) of those who
23%
38%
18%
10%
7% 4%
grade 7
form 2
form 4
form 6
college certificate/diploma
first degree
54. 42
received training said that they were trained also in activities which are not closely
related to housing development but which contribute indirectly to housing through
income generation and skills development. The training received included sowing, HIV
and AIDS and family planning. Organizations which were cited besides HCC and The
Ministry of Youth Gender and Employment Creation (MYGEC) included Housing
People of Zimbabwe and Anglo Action Protection for Cholera. Table 4 shows the income
levels as given by CHC interviewees.
Table 4: CHC respondents’ income levels
Total monthly income (US$) Frequency Percentage (%) of the
respondents
Below 150 8 12
150-300 33 50
301-451 15 23
452-602 6 9
More than 602 4 26
Total 66 100
Source: Research findings, 2010
As shown in Table 8, twelve percent (12%) of the respondents were getting a total
monthly income of less than one hundred and fifty dollars ($150), twenty- three percent
of the respondents (23%) were getting a monthly total income ranging from $301-$451
and four percent (4%) of the interviewees said they can raise $602 as their total income
per month. Out of the 66 administered questionnaires, fifteen of the respondents said they
get a total ranging between, $301-$451. It was also established that on average the
income levels of community based housing cooperative members of CHC were
considerably lower than those of workplace based cooperative members. Given the fact
that half of the respondents were getting a monthly income ranging from $150-$300, it
can be fairly stated that most of the CHC members paid more or less half of their total
income to the CHC site service project as their monthly contributions in average were
$200.
55. 43
The research further established that cooperative members pay contributions when
required not out of will but out of fear of being expelled from cooperative.6
Also this
research observed that three-quarters of the respondents pay their contributions and are
actively involved in the affairs of CHC. About one-third of the interviewees were
members of other cooperative societies which were not involved in housing and all of
them cited burial societies as the other society where they pay monthly contributions and
participate in decision making. There are chances that the leadership ‘borrowed’ their
lived experience from burial societies to perfect their management skills at CHC. It was
interesting to note that sixty percent of those with other societies earned a total monthly
income of note less than $300. This shows that the decision of being in two or more
societies maybe positively related to the real income of the member.
4.2.2 Gender and participation in CHC
This research established that 60% of the members of the work place based cooperative7
members of CHC were male; this probably came due to the explained by the fact that the
employment sector in Zimbabwe is still male dominated. Also this might be explained by
the fact that in African tradition, men as household leaders are responsible for seeking
shelter for the family. However, women were strongly represented in community based
cooperative8
members of CHC but it is sad to note that all of the 22 members of CHC
management committee were male.
As one committee member of the CHC believed that;
Most women spend their time at home preparing food for the family and looking after the children,
So they cannot afford to be actively and frequently involved in the leadership issue which calls for
greater attentions, they just prefer to do their motherly tasks at home.
It is also interesting to note that, the cooperative with more female membership (FSHC)
was among those with the lowest default rate in the monthly contributions of CHC. Low
6
The constitution of CHC states that if the member failed to pay contributions in time CHC can expel that
member with no compensation, section of the Cooperative Societies Act provide that a member can loose
membership due to failure to pay contributions for three consecutive months.
7
Workplace based housing cooperatives as defined by Chirisa and Munzwa (2008) are formed by people
who are brought together by being employed by the some employer.
8
Community based housing cooperatives are formed by members who leave in the same neighbourhood.
56. 44
participation rate of women in CHC community based cooperative members contrasts the
findings of Vakil (1995) that shelter is more of a primary issue for women than for men.
4.2.3 CHC members’ perception about cooperative synergism
Most of the cooperative members (64%) felt that, their major achievement as a result of
cooperative synergism was resource pooling with particular reference to human
resources, material resources and financial resources. When their individual housing
cooperatives were intergraded they managed to broaden their resource base and
developed the basic services on the site (water, sewer, roads and electricity). Fourteen
percent (14%) of the respondents felt that cooperative action benefited them a lot as it
resulted in competition at cooperative level which brings about innovation and novel
ideas and strategies. Five percent (5%) of the respondents put more emphases on
combined human skills as a result of synergies in housing cooperative societies. This
concurs with what was noted by Widstrand (1972) and Treacy (984) that the cooperative
potentials with regard to leadership and enthusiasm are not split but are concentrated in
the society. Furthermore, some of the interviewees felt that cooperative synergism in
CHC has helped members to create a compact neighbourhood especially due to the fact
that as they work together during the development of housing for their own
‘consumption’ the members tend to create a close bond; hence they benefit from
increased social capital. Box 4 shows the views of the Chairmen of THC concerning
their experience in cooperative synergism.
57. 45
Box 4: THC chairmen’s views on cooperative action in CHC
When we were told by HCC that we were supposed to service the site with our own resources, the idea
seemed unattainable. At that time we decided to sit down as cooperative members and more ideas were
raised. We managed to provide water and sewer systems which are up to the standards of the HCC. Road
construction and electricity installation are at an advanced stage. It took us five years to do this and as we
made the achievements we now celebrate. This is our own thing we proved that “managers are born and not
made,” no one among us was either trained or employed in construction project management prior to this
project. Together as one, we have managed it although we started our project during the hash economic
environments9
. In 2008 when the inflation in Zimbabwe reached its peak, our income and servings were
eroded. As a result it was very difficult for most of our members to pay contributions! During that time
most of our members were forced to drop out. But they were succeeded by new members. HCC gave us
three years to show that we can do site servicing on our own and as a result we decided to pay our monthly
contributions in foreign currency before the adoption of the multi-currency system by Government. As a
result we managed to import raw materials from South Africa and pay our contractors in time. The secret of
our success is that we worked as a system whereby we took charge of both construction management and
the procurement of raw materials as well as using skilled labour only on specialised tusks there by
minimising cost.
Source: Research findings, 2010
This shows that this THC chairman was highly satisfied with what they managed to
achieve over the period of five years. Five years can be considered as a satisfactory time
given that the project was stated during the period of economic meltdown compounded
by the fact that CHC used only its own resources without external funding. However, if
the project was left to the private developers maybe five years was a long enough period
to do more projects on site servicing hence housing more people, which shows that even
if cooperative synergism can work more time if needed for site servicing.
9
During the period 2005-2008 it was difficult to serve as the inflation raised to more than 1000% and
servings were eroded by the negative real interest rate obtained in the financial sector.
58. 46
4.3 PERSPECTIVE OF THE CHC MANAGEMENT
Eleven out of the twenty-two members of CHC management committee were interviewed
and their responses are presented in this section.
4.3.1 Organizational framework of CHC management board
CHC management committee consists of twenty-two (22) members, two from each
member cooperative that is each chairperson and treasurer respectively. This
management board is only responsible for facilitating the provision of roads, water,
electricity and sewer at their site but it does not interfere in the day to day running of
individual Housing cooperative members. 10
4.3.2 CHC management educational level and experience
All of the twenty-two (22) members of the CHC management committee are male and
eight of the respondents were once involved in cooperative leadership for not less than
four years, two respondents took about six years as leaders of their respective housing
cooperatives and one interviewee participated in leadership for more than ten years.
There is a high probability that their experience contributed greatly to the success of the
CHC. Chances are that the success of the CHC might be attributed to the experience of
the management more than the effects of cooperative action, even if more cooperative
societies are combined without experienced people in management, they might fail to
meet the intended objectives. However, combining the cooperative societies might also
increases the probability of having more experienced and educated members with in the
combined groups. Also it was established that educational level was considered for one to
occupy a critical position like being a secretary or treasurer.11
Figure 6 shows the
educational representation of CHC management board
10
CHC took over the role of the local government, this increases public participation in urban planning and
management.
11
For one to be a treasurer, one must poses knowledge on accounting or book keeping and a secretary is
supposed to be literate.
59. 47
Figure 6.Educational representation in CHC management committee
Source: Research findings, 2010
Four out of the eleven respondents attained form 4 as their highest level of education
Three of the sample population reached form 6 as their highest educational level,
Two of the interviewees attained a college certificate or diploma
One of the respondents obtained a first degree,
One of the sample population obtained a post graduate qualification
From the data presented in Figure 6 it can be fairly stated that almost all of the most
educated members of CHC constitute the leadership as shown by the fact that members
which were interviewed attained at least a Form 4 as their educational level. This
probably contributed to the success of the CHC projects. Chances are that the leadership
can easily understand legal and accounting issues (especially when signing contracts with
financial institutions and building contractors) which usually are in written form.
However, there were allegations that in some cases leaders impose what they think is
good and the participation of other general members is limited especially female
members since male educated and experienced members felt that they know better due to
their academic qualifications and experience.12
The success of the CHC may be attributed
to high educational levels as indicated by the number of years of formal education
received by the executive committee members and prior organizational experience
12
Also the leaders are the ones who receive more training on leadership hence they tend to be more vocal
and dominate in CHC decision making.
4
3
2
1
1
form 4
form 6
college certificate/diploma
first degree
post graduate
60. 48
(especially in burial societies and management at work places). This is indicated by the
organizational capacity with respect to leadership skills such as the ability to run
meetings, establish agendas and to keep the minutes of meetings.
4.3.3 CHC management and policy
When the CHC was established the members were directed by HCC to draft a
constitution which guides its code of conduct and the constitution was agreed upon all
cooperative members. CHC was established under the provisions of section 38 subsection
1 of the Cooperative Societies Act (Chapter 24:05)13
, hence the by-laws of each
cooperative are still binding. The research however observed that the by-laws of all
members of the CHC are more or less the same as they were drafted with reference to
Sample Housing Cooperative by-laws provided by HCC. However CHC is not a
registered entity14
, which created potential rifts in the social cohesion of its members as
each housing cooperative remains a separate unit , as a result in the event of obtaining a
bank loan, each cooperative member was supposed to sign its own loan agreement. So in
this case the advantages of cooperative synergism as noted by Taimni (1978) do not
apply as the situation is more or less similar to what happens when cooperatives operate
as individual entities.
During service provision, tenders were issued and CHC management committee selected
the best bidders. Deltafin was contracted for road construction, Mupedza Surveyors were
contracted for site survey, Kachoma Company provided water and sewer reticulation and
Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) as it is the sole provider of electricity
was chosen for electricity installation. The overall selection of those who won the tenders
for site servicing lied on the discretion of the management of the CHC most probably due
to the fact that the management shunned corruption.
13
Section 38 subsection 1 only provides for the formation of primary cooperative societies and not the
cooperation of existing cooperatives
14
For the CHC to be registered as a single legal person it need to be registered under section 38 subsection
4 of the Cooperative Societies Act (Chapter 24:05)
61. 49
4.3.4 Achievements by CHC
CHC was allocated undeveloped land in 2005 by HCC; this was also noted by UN-
Habitat (2000) see 2.3.4 that is, housing cooperatives can obtain land from the local
authority. However in the case of the CHC project the transfer of land ownership was
shrouded in obscurity as it was not clear whether HCC intended to sell the land to CHC
or it wanted to give it for free as it was its experimental project.
Although it was during the period of hyperinflation the consortium managed to provide
basic services on the site without any out sources of resources. By the time of the study,
construction of housing dwellings at cooperative level was progressing very well. The
dwellings were of eleven different shapes (each housing cooperative with its own style)
this resulted in an aesthetically pleasing environment. However some housing
cooperatives appeared to be straggling as indicated by the fact that there were still at the
foundation stage while others have finished core houses. One member from the lagging
cooperative in terms of construction of housing dwellings cited high costs of service
provision as the main limiting factor.
Most of our savings were spend on site servicing now it is difficult for us to finance the construction of our
houses as a cooperative.
Those were the words of one member of Vimbainesu Housing Cooperative. This shows
that even though working as a group for site servicing benefited some members of CHC,
to some the site servicing project have limited their capacity to build their own housing
units.
Plates 1 up to plate 4 are pictorial representations showing the major achievements by
CHC over the past five years.
Site development in hyper inflationary period! Despite the hash economic environments
in 2005-8 CHC managed to provide roads, sewer and water systems which are up to the
standards of HCC.
62. 50
Plate 1: A water main connecting to CHC housing stands
The plate shows the water main which connects to CHC housing stands. This is a success of cooperative
synergism and has seen residents of CHC having access to water- a critical need for domestic and other
sanitary processes ensuring better health
Source: Field research, 2010
As shown on plate 1, the water main was provided by CHC, and was used to control
water supply in the event of pipe linkages. According to one Committee member of Five-
star Housing Cooperative who claimed to be one of the purchasing committee of CHC,
the water reticulation materials were imported from South Africa. He went further to say
that, the CHC is still accountable for any damages to the water system but HCC was
already collecting rates every month.
