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Chitungwiza council in fix over Nyatsime invaders

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CHITUNGWIZA Town Council is battling to evict a group of invaders who have occupied land in the Nyatsime area that had already been sold as housing stands

CHITUNGWIZA Town Council is battling to evict a group of invaders who have occupied land in the Nyatsime area that had already been sold as housing stands to homeseekers in 2007.

EDGAR GWESHE

The housing stands were divided into low, medium and high-density suburbs.

But progress was being hampered because the settlers were refusing to leave to make way for the rightful owners.

Chitungwiza mayor Philip Mutoti said the local authority had, on numerous occasions, tried to seek the eviction of the illegal settlers, but without success.

He said the invasion could stand in the way of successful implementation of the Nyatsime housing project.

“We have already started distributing the housing stands in the Nyatsime area and people are coming forward to pay their top-ups. But the major problem at the moment is that we have people who allocated themselves stands that had already been deposited for by some homeseekers,” Mutoti said.

“These people went on to build structures at these stands and we have even sought legal assistance to evict them, but still, they remain defiant.”

The mayor did not rule out the possibility of a political hand at play as far as the issue of the “invaders” was concerned.

“It is possible that these people could be enjoying political support from somewhere because we have held several meetings with them and top government officials and they agreed to move from the area, but it seems they are getting assurances from certain political players,” Mutoti said.

“Some of them are even claiming to have been on council’s housing waiting list for a long time yet we have gathered that they allocated the stands among themselves and only paid $70 each.”

Early this month, scores of Zanu PF youths gathered at the Chitungwiza municipality offices demanding to be allocated housing stands. Mutoti said council would soon engage the responsible authorities to seek the eviction of the invaders the beneficiaries get their stands. “Inasmuch as it might be difficult, we do not have any other option, but to make sure that sanity prevails at Nyatsime. Of course, everyone is entitled to housing, but everything has to be done according to council procedures,” Mutoti said.