By Correspondent
St Martins residents have demanded that City of Harare come on the ground and identify structures that, it says, were not protected by a High Court order.
Through their lawyers, Macheye Law Chambers, the residents wrote to Harare’s Director of Housing and Community Services, Addmore Nhekairo.
Their letter, received on September 18, was also copied to the Minister of Local Government and the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission.
They requested an on-site meeting on Saturday, September 26.
“The City has said it demolished only structures not protected by the High Court order,” the residents said.
Harare Residents’ Trust (HRT) maintains that the demolitions were carried out without a court order.
This contravened Section 74 of the Constitution, which protects people from arbitrary eviction from their homes.
“The residents want council officials to walk the site with them and distinguish between structures it considers outside the court order and those that remain protected.
Trail of Demolitions
The dispute comes against the backdrop of Zimbabwe’s long-running use of demolitions to deal with structures deemed illegal.
The most extensive such campaign was Operation Murambatsvina in 2005.
Then, the government demolished houses, informal businesses and vending structures across urban areas.
However, demolitions have continued in various forms.
They have included campaigns targeting housing cooperatives and developments considered to have been built without planning approval.
At St Martins, residents say the dispute also concerns money and infrastructure.
They say they each paid US$5,000 into a City of Harare account about eight years ago and are demanding an account of the funds.
They also claim that water and sewer installations are about 90% complete, with the remaining work requiring pipes and materials held by council.
The residents say they remain prepared to develop the area according to council-approved plans.
They want the city’s technical departments to identify any outstanding requirements.
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