HARARE City Council has condemned the building of houses in cemeteries particularly at Granville, largely known as Mbudzi, saying it was immoral and should be stopped forthwith.
BY MOSES MATENGA STAFF REPORTER
Council chairperson for the Housing and Community Development committee Charles Nyatsuro said it was improper to build houses in cemeteries like the case at Mbudzi where scores of families constructed houses less than seven metres from graves.
The houses are located at “B” section where NewsDay saw children and their parents walking around unperturbed while others were using council taps for water. “It is not proper to build houses like that. Something needs to be done to make sure there is nothing like that. It’s morally wrong to build houses in cemeteries. It’s unlawful, unhealthy and can’t be allowed to continue,” Nyatsuro said.
This comes at a time Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo has threatened to order the demolition of all illegal structures in the city.
Chombo, two weeks ago, gave a three-week ultimatum for owners of illegal structures to raze them down.
Several people, most of them engaged in illicit dealings and prostitution, have built houses in the graveyards without council approval.
Those who spoke to NewsDay said they had done that after realising council was “taking forever” to provide accommodation for them.
