Tapiwa Chirume
STAFF WRITER
HARARE City Council(HCC) is moving to crush an emerging land grab along the Harare Drive expansion corridor, where illegal structures face impending demolition.
The development comes as Local Government minister Daniel Garwe has strongly warned that no housing developments must be allowed to go ahead or proceed without “all civil services” and the alleged Belvedere West illegal settlement comes as Zanu PF political commissar Munyaradzi Machacha has equally condemned land invasions and resultant illegal settlements. reportedly been invaded by people putting up houses on a strategic road reserve earmarked for the expansion of Harare Drive.
“The council is fully aware of the illegal construction taking place on the land between Belvedere West and the Heroes Acre. This land is reserved for the Harare Drive expansion project, and no private development is permitted on it,” HCC housing manager Edgar Dzehonye told The Daily News yesterday before warning “those behind the developments that council would serious action soon .
“We are warning those behind these illegal activities that the council will descend heavily on them. We will not allow people to invade or develop land that has been reserved for a critical infrastructure project,” he said. As Harare is currently reverberating to the demolitions in St Martins, Dzehonye said “similar actions were only being held up or delayed by legal processes, with the council awaiting court orders before moving onto the site”.
“We are currently awaiting a court order before we commence demolitions, and very soon we will move in to clear the illegal structures. Those occupying or developing the land should not mistake the delay for inaction,” he said.
Further, the HCC housing boss said the council was determined to safeguard land reserved for public infrastructure and prevent illegal settlements from compromising future road development.
“The council is determined to protect its strategic land reserves and ensure that the Harare Drive expansion project is not compromised by illegal settlements or construction,” Dzehonye said. The latest crackdown comes amid growing concern over the activities of land barons, who have been accused of illegally allocating municipal and state land to unsuspecting home seekers and fuelling the growth of unplanned settlements.
The government and local authorities have intensified efforts to tackle illegal land occupations and fraudulent property sales, with several urban and peri-urban areas affected by unplanned developments.
As the issue has drawn the attention of Zanu PF bigwigs and who have warned its officials against shielding land barons, Machacha told party recently that illegal land dealers should face the law.
“Land barons must be arrested. They must not approach party officials seeking protection — our prisons are not full. We do not want to see party officials protecting developments that are not properly regularised and breach the law,” he said.
“Anyone caught engaging in illegal land dealings must be left to go to jail. All party members need to support government efforts to restore order in land administration and ensure that those found engaging in illegal land deals are brought to justice,” Machacha said.
The latest developments follow concerns raised by the council last year that more than 200 houses and other properties, including two mansions near the National Heroes Acre, had been illegally constructed on land reserved for the Harare Drive expansion.
Unplanned settlements and illegal land allocations by self-proclaimed land barons have plagued major urban centres in the country for years.