The Harare City Council was yesterday forced to stop its controversial house demolition exercise following pressure from the government.
The move came after a public outcry and intervention by Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe, who criticised the council's actions as “inhumane.”
The council had planned to demolish more than 5 000 houses built in illegal settlements across the city in the coming weeks while enforcing about 37 High Court orders.
The targeted houses, located mostly in high density suburbs such as Kuwadzana, Budiriro, Glen View and Mabvuku, were constructed on land reserved for essential public amenities.
In an interview with NewsDay, Local Government and Public Works minister Daniel Garwe condemned the council's decision to issue residents with only seven-day notices to vacate their homes before demolishing them.
“What City Council is doing is inhumane and it is not acceptable. A person takes six months building a house and you are watching.
“Then you want to come and give them a notice of 7 days to come and demolish the house. You give them a notice to relocate, where can they relocate in that short period of time?
“At least they should give them four or five months so that they are able to build elsewhere. Yes, Mafume [Harare major Jacob] has a court order, but it does not give him the right to cause pain and suffering to people.
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“From now onwards no house is going to be demolished. We are stopping them from demolishing houses. That's the position of the government.”
Mafume confirmed the suspension of demolitions.
“We are abiding by the order for the Local Government ministry to suspend the operation of law for now," Mafume said.
The mayor has previously acknowledged that some residents had been deceived into buying land in unauthorised areas, often falling victim to schemes operated by the land barons, ussually linked to politicians.
The land barons obtain land in disputed or unregulated areas, illegally subdividing and selling it to homeseekers who are often unaware of the illegality involved.
Families then invest their savings in these plots, believing they are securing a permanent home only to find themselves on unstable legal ground when authorities pounce.
The courts have issued multiple judgments against home seekers in these settlements, declaring the occupation of land without proper authorisation illegal.
NewsDay also gathered that most of the land barons were politically linked, allowing them to walk away scot-free after committing the crime.
Last month, police indicated that at least 184 land barons had been arrested for misleading unsuspecting individuals resulting in unlawful constructions on State-owned, wetlands and grazing lands.
Last week, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said the city council’s move to demolish houses was illegal.
