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Ngozi Mine squatters hope for ‘proper’ houses

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Some 200 squatters living at Ngozi Mine, a Bulawayo City Council rubbish dump site, said they were looking forward to marking the United Nations Habitat Day next Monday with the hope of better living conditions.

Some 200 squatters living at Ngozi Mine, a Bulawayo City Council rubbish dump site, said they were looking forward to marking the United Nations Habitat Day next Monday with the hope of better living conditions.Staff Reporter The world marks UN Habitat Day every first Monday of October. A spokesperson for the squatters, Albert Ndlovu, said although conditions had improved at the slum as a result of aid from Amnesty International, they looked forward to commemorating UN Habitat Day with hope that they would get “proper” houses in the near future.

  “We also want to get better places to live in because we are people as well,” he said.

  “We are happy that even though we are still at the squatter camp, some people, like Amnesty International, have begun seeing us as proper humans. There are a lot of us now staying there. We are about 200. This is because of problems of accommodation in the city. Many people are joining us all the time.”

  Ndlovu said they had water problems, although the local authority, at times, supplied clean water through a communal tape.

  “We have no power connection. We draw water most of the time from a well nearby. However, we have a communal tape where the local authority makes water available every day. The council has allowed us to stay there,” Ndlovu said.

  “I have been staying at Ngozi Mine since 2008 when I lost my job at a local supermarket. Most of us use pushcarts to earn very little money. Some of us survive by mining the dumpsite. They pick stuff from the rubbish that comes with city council trucks. They sell some of the things that they pick.”

  Ndlovu said most of the people at the squatter camp were unemployed.

  Bulawayo mayor Thaba Moyo said the local authority was aware of the problems at squatter camps like Ngozi Mine and Killarney and  was working on addressing the issues.

  “We have taken steps on them. We have engaged them (homeless people). Together, with our partners’ assistance, we have made sure we get land for them. We have even resettled some. There are a few left and we will continue to ensure that we relocate them and make sure that they get proper living places,” Moyo said.