Simba Chikore, Bona Mugabe struggle to finance Umwinsidale suburb mansion construction

Former Zimbabwe first daughter Bona Mugabe and her husband Simba Chikore have failed to raise money to complete their mansion following the death of the country’s former head of state.

The mansion which is under construction in the exclusive Umwinsidale suburb was originally expected to cost a massive US$39 million. At the time, Mugabe is reported to have been financing the construction of the mansion.

However, following the death of Mugabe in 2019, Bona and Chikore are reported to have contained the costs of the mansion and brought it down the total cost from US$39 million to US$20 million.

A source revealed the following details to NewsHawks,

“At the moment the total cost of the house is expected to be at least US$20 million. This is because the owners of the property are now struggling to finish the house, which at the beginning was supposed to cost US$39 million.

“The late former president was financing the project. Remember he gave Bona and Simba his historic Mount Pleasant house during their wedding, but after that, they asked him to build a house of their choice and dreams. Mugabe said he would fund the project; he paid for everything before he died. Simba and Bona are now struggling to complete it. It’s a huge project; they need millions of US dollars to finish it.”

“The price would have been much higher if they still had money because in an elevated mountain area like that it might have cost up to US$5 000 per square metre to build, but that has now been contained at US$2 500 per square metre.

“So when you add land, construction, design and landscaping costs, at a minimum square metre charge of US$2 500 it becomes US$20 million, but if you take a maximalist approach it will be US$39 million. This includes the cost of paying the whole project team; the architect (team leader), structural engineer, civil engineer, mechanical engineer and electrical engineer. These days there is also the environmental engineer. While professional architects usually charge 7% of the project cost, the engineers charge 3.5%. These are the professional rates but, of course, people always negotiate.

“Besides all that, there will also be a road which will stretch for a kilometre inside the property given its magnitude and that will cost up to US$1.5 million on its own. Building a kilometre of a proper tarred road costs between US$1 million and US$1.2 million.”

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