PLOTS GALORE AT MCHALAGENI FARM

NGWENYA- It will be ‘plots galore’ at Mchalageni Farm situated in Ngwenya.

This is because the current owners of the farm, which has been converted into a township, had been advised to sell portions of their plots to fund infrastructure development that will run into millions.
The farm owners would be expected to sell pieces of the land and further construct their own shopping complex near the border gate.
The farm is situated adjacent to Ngwenya Border Gate.

Initially, the farm was purchased by 42 residents when its actual owner relocated to South Africa after the country’s independence.
It appeared that the farm owner feared that government might confiscate the farm after the country gained its independence in 1968. 

Information gathered from the actual buyers of the farm, was that the capital share of the farm was E50 000 in 1971 which resulted in them parting with E1 200 each.
“We wanted a small piece of land for our handcraft markets near the border gate, but the farm owner advised us to purchase the whole farm because he was relocating to South Africa,” said an ex-miner who was part of the project.
Another resident of the farm said as time went on, they decided to convert the private farm into a township.

The resident said the conversion of the farm into a township came with benefits to the residents, as it improved the value of the land which came with a high purchase price.

He said in several meetings they planned to improve the infrastructure to meet the town standards. As a result, the resident stated that they requested the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to declare the farm a township in 2001.
However, he said they had a challenge with the cost of infrastructure resulting in the failure of the project.

The resident mentioned that they renewed the application after they found a strategy to fund the infrastructure. Asked about the strategy, the resident said the residents had agreed to contribute towards the infrastructure which includes roads, water, sewers and electricity.

Stakeholders

“We have engaged all the relevant stakeholders; however we have not finalised the quotations. Evaluations were done and we got a provisional approval in January 2019. Since some residents have no source of income, we have advised them to sell a portion of their land so that they could get money and contribute to the infrastructure development,” he said.

The residents confided that some residents were reluctant to contribute to the project. He said some were complaining about where they would get the income, since they were old and unemployed.
However, he said they had since advised the reluctant residents about the benefits of converting the farm into a town. He made an example that the value of the land was better once a place was declared a town. He stated that the majority of residents had plenty land within the farm.

While at the farm, it was observed that the majority of residents had big portions of land. Some people had invested in flats while some kept the vacant land.
“As you can see, I have already demolished my four flats so that I can build proper ones. I will also demolish my houses because I have a proper plan for my land,” said an optimistic resident.

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