THE land grab by Zanu PF activists at the weekend appeared to have subsided after police descended heavily on them and dispersed hundreds who had been allocating themselves unserviced residential and commercial stands.
NewsDay Editorial
We applaud the police for swift action as the land grab had gone viral, threatening Harare with the unprecedented sprouting of unsanctioned residential areas in Glen View, Budiriro, Kuwadzana Extension and Glen Norah, among others. The settlements threatened the health of millions of Harare’s high-density suburbs where the proposed new settlements had been earmarked.
The only unfortunate thing is that even though the settlements have been halted for now, thousands of residents had been fleeced of their hard-earned cash by unscrupulous Zanu PF activists who charged them non-refundable administration fees ranging from $10-$20 as registration fee for the illegal stands.
When the shacks were destroyed, especially in Kuwadzana Extension, those that had illegally settled stayed put and continued to sleep in the open as if waiting to be resettled.
We believe the government should have a principled stand on the matter and not allow any residential development without proper survey by local authorities.
What is disturbing is that even though the local authorities in Chitungwiza and Harare were aware of these developments, they were not involved, casting aspersions as to who was behind the illegal occupations. We do not believe that these people are land hungry people, but greedy ones who want to take advantage of a situation by holding Zanu PF to ransom for claiming they had voted for the party and, therefore, for them it was payback time.
Should Zanu PF allow this chicanery by some of its zealots? No! This could cost the lives of millions of innocent individuals who do not want to have anything to do with politics — peace-loving Zimbabweans.
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Zanu PF should investigate the matter with a view to calling to order any Zanu PF bigwigs who may be behind these illegal urban settlements. Interestingly, the evictions followed our report last week highlighting the extent to which unserviced open spaces throughout Harare were being invaded by suspected Zanu PF supporters under the guise of the party’s empowerment programme.
The invaders had claimed the programme had the full blessings of Zanu PF and was being co-ordinated by local party officials, but Zanu PF Harare provincial chairperson Amos Midzi and national secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa said the exercise was illegal, describing the invaders as rogue elements bent on tarnishing the party’s image.
The disturbing fact is that the illegal occupations of urban land started in the run-up to the July 31 elections. Similar invasions were recorded at open spaces in Chitungwiza’s Units A, C, F, K, J, L and O and also in Zengeza and St Mary’s.
What is more worrying is that the illegal settlements could have affected the value of the legitimate houses and posed a health hazard as there were no ablution facilities or tap water. Illegal urban settlements should not be condoned by the government, but should be dealt with in the sternest terms.
