The Sunday Mail
Society Reporters
The urban landscape, especially in Greater Harare, a metropolitan area covering Harare City, Chitungwiza, Norton and Epworth, is now scarred by informal and illegal settlements that have been growing for the past decade.
Not only are they unsightly, but they are a disaster waiting to happen, as they neither have running water nor proper sewer systems.
Some of them are on wetlands, a development which, in addition to disrupting the environment, has been causing serious flooding during the rainy season.
It all started in 2012 when Government, under the old administration, adopted the “Pay Your Own Scheme”, which shifted the obligation for providing services such as onsite and offsite infrastructure — roads, water, electricity and sewer — to beneficiaries of residential land.
Consequently, a parallel development approach that was also adopted, through which beneficiaries or housing cooperatives could construct houses at the same time services were being put up, had the unintended effect of allowing people to settle on unserviced land.
As a result, many people illegally settled themselves on land belonging to private companies and local authorities.
It was a mess!
Although the new political administration has adopted a framework to audit the structures, regularise them if possible, including demolishing structures that cannot possibly be regularised, it is the latter option that is proving difficult to implement.
Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution in Harare Metropolitan Province Oliver Chidawu believes that the time to act is now.
“We are in the process of consulting, which is why it appears like we are silent on the ground.
“However, we are aware that some people are still constructing in condemned areas because of our silence. But let me warn them that the law is coming after them. Some of the informal settlements will be demolished,” he said.
“While the plan is to relocate some of them, it is only those who will follow a set procedure, as stipulated, who shall benefit from the Government programme.”
Local Government and Public Works Deputy Minister Marian Chombo says illegal settlers and property developers need to be dealt with decisively.
There have been instances of open defiance in settlements such as Budiriro, where settlers put up new structures as soon as their houses would have been demolished.
“Councils should not entertain residents who continue to invade land time and again. Government does not support illegal settlers; as such, if the State or council for that matter, unreasonably entertains people who choose to allocate themselves land illegally, this would be a recipe for disaster,” argued the Deputy Minister.
“Where people have been illegally settled, the person or land baron who unlawfully sold the land should be brought before the courts, the complainant being those so illegally settled. It is only then that the Government may consider to come in with alternative stands. Otherwise illegal settlers should just move out and go where they came from.”
Harare Metropolitan provincial development coordinator (PDC) Tafadzwa Muguti told The Sunday Mail Society that local authorities are “currently compiling information on areas that may be demolished under the dysfunctional settlements programme being carried out by the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works”.
“Illegal settlements are illegal and remain so in every sense. It is the duty of local authorities to execute work as outlined by the Regional, Town and Country Planning Act 29:13 to ensure that all settlements are orderly and follow the respective masterplans of the four local authorities in Harare Metropolitan province.
“Where illegal developments mushroom, the development control departments of all local authorities issue prohibition orders and demolish them before building progresses . . .
“They (local authorities) have well-oiled machinery to deal with illegal settlements and my duty as PDC is to ensure that they abide by the law and governing acts,” he said.
The Environmental Management Agency (EMA), he added, is working with all local authorities to ensure that all occupied wetlands are vacated.
Hesitancy
Minister of National Housing and Social Amenities Daniel Garwe said Government is not going to demolish any residential structures.
“We are not going to demolish any residential structures. Instead, we are in the process of regularising all illegal settlements. As for those on wetlands, we are going to relocate them,” he said.
“Since we are still floating tenders, we are still to put together our roadmap on which areas will come first and which ones will come last. However, the law will take its course to ensure land barons and bogus cooperatives are brought to book.”
Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister Sithembiso Nyoni said although bogus cooperatives were fleecing the public and causing confusion, there are ongoing efforts to flush them out.
“Our challenge has been that of land barons who come and register purporting to be cooperatives, then we later realise that they are in fact land barons. However, we are doing follow-ups and deregistering them, including reporting their cases to the police. It is encouraging though to note that we have more registered bonafide housing cooperatives than bogus ones,” she said.
Harare Residents Trust director Precious Shumba said the crisis that cities find themselves in is a result of rural to urban migration.
“Rural to urban migration has increased over the years, resulting in massive demand for houses.
“And those who have no relatives to accommodate them are establishing illegal settlements, starting as squatters erecting plastic or wooden shacks on the outskirts of planned suburbs,” he said.
“The situation has also been made worse by corrupt council officials and land barons that are parcelling out land without following laid down procedures. They are settling people anyhow.”
“Residents should follow the law. They must use the longer legal route than pursue shortcuts which results in loss of their hard-earned earnings to fraudsters. Those whose houses have been earmarked for demolitions should report to the authorities the people that sold them the land.
“…in some instances, the residents are not to blame. There are some council officials and councillors that even go out of their way, making use of forged documents just to convince their victims that everything is being done above board.”
