LAST week, we witnessed the demolition of houses in Ridgeview and Belvedere, with bulldozers pulling down structural and perimeter walls, and septic tanks which had been in place for some time.
Houses worth thousands of dollars were razed to the ground with the city council claiming the occupants had illegally constructed properties on the local authority’s land.
The mayor was quoted arrogantly stating that there was no need to regularise properties built on land acquired illegally, a statement that shows how ruthless Harare is run.
No one should have their property demolished as long as there is a window of opportunity to negotiate for regularisation considering the costs involved in construction.
Many people have applied for council land and some have been patiently renewing their waiting list number, but nothing has come to fruition.
Most of the land is corruptly allocated to friends, relatives and those who can grease the palms of the executives, leaving the poor desperate for far too long.
If the land belongs to council and is residential land, why not just regularise and get the necessary revenue that the city council is in dire need of?
Local Government and Public Works minister Daniel Garwe was on national television some days after distancing the government from the demolitions.
- Mayhem as schools reject Zimdollar fees
- TIMB boss in court
- Zacc descends on 'delinquent' schools
- A president who’s always seeing enemies, detractors is oftentimes the problem
Keep Reading
If Harare City Council can carry out demolitions without the blessing of the parent ministry, then that is tantamount to sabotage and is clearly an act of cruelty.
If the minister was telling the truth, we should be worried that there is a hidden hand in the Local Government ministry that is working to discredit the government.
National Development Strategy 1 is ending just 12 months from now and at least 220 000 new housing units should be established by the end of 2025 and the number should reach one million units by 2030.
With this inhumane behaviour, we are making four steps forward then six backwards, yet we expect to achieve our targets within the stipulated time.
We wait to see the punishment that the Local Government ministry is going to mete out on the errant mayor and his director for planning if really they acted unilaterally to bring misery on the poor families whose houses were demolished.
There should come a time when office bearers are held responsible for the costs involved in construction and demolition, considering they would have made unilateral decision, as revealed by the parent ministry.
All of us should be considerate as we execute our duties.Because you have been lucky to win a council seat riding on opposition politics’ so-called urban popularity does not give you unfettered powers to strangulate others.
I do not condone what the mayor did, especially now that the rains are upon us.
People should not regret being Zimbabwean.
I want to personally thank Vice-President Kembo Mohadi for being firm in stopping the demolitions.
The reaction could have come late, but it was applauded as the arrogant mayor had promised to demolish more houses around Harare.
The President should know that many people are living in anguish because their homes are being demolished in farms, towns and cities on a daily basis.
Does the ruling party not have a local government department that is consulted by the Local Government ministry when such radical decisions of demolitions are made?
We hear the party is supreme, so why does the ministry make decisions that surprise even the Vice-Presisent?
Is this not an act of insubordination?
There was commotion at Chinhoyi Citrus Farm a few weeks ago when demolitions were carried out at a property said to belong to Phillip Chiyangwa.
The occupants claimed to have stayed on the land for over 20 years.
At the contentious Warwick Farm near Lake Chivero, there were demolitions, where veterans of the liberation struggle had settled since the time of the land reform.
The farm is said to have been fraudulently changed to private property despite it having been gazetted by government earlier on.
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission has now put Warwick Farm on its radar.
Such corruption should be nipped in the bud and perpetrators should be brought to book.
My advice is before demolitions are carried out, investigations should be done to establish why the people need to be removed.
In most cases, we realise there is massive corruption going on around the properties.
Investigate how Citrus Farm was acquired, investigate how Warwick Farm was acquired and many more pieces of land.
Johannes Marisa is a medical practitioner who is the current president of the Medical and Dental Private Practitioners Association of Zimbabwe.
