By Correspondent
Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) has expressed concern at the sudden removal of a moratorium on land use and town planning.
The moratorium had halted the processing of applications and the issuance of permits for changes in land use and reservation by local authorities.
According to CHRA the blanket lifting of the moratorium is too early.
This is due to persistent underlying issues which remain unresolved.
These, it says, render the earlier intervention ineffective and unfair.
“Such an approach risks undermining accountability, promoting poor performance, and creating “sacred cows” among local authorities.
On the 6th of May 2025, the Combined Harare Residents Association welcomed the moratorium.
It said it was a “necessary measure to curb unchecked construction of buildings and houses on ecologically sensitive areas.
It would also stop deliberate allocation of infill housing stands in open spaces.
These included parks, opaque change of land use, and reservations in the City of Harare.
The organisation accused Harare Council’s pay scheme approach to housing development to be vulnerable to abuse.
The process had been “manipulated and hijacked by land barons, a situation that has seen the destruction of wetlands and the emergence of infill housing stands that expose residents to natural disasters.
Criticising Removal of Moratorium
“The wholesale lifting of the ban sends a wrong message and perception among residents that the Ministry is protecting failure and inefficiencies.
“(This), especially at a time when the government has been promoting performance-based approaches to service provision in local authorities.
“We therefore implore the Ministry of Local Government to be resolute and firm when it has made critical decisions.
“In the future, we recommend that the decision-making processes of issuing such moratoriums should be informed by broader participation of stakeholders and residents.
CHRA says this will ensure that changes of land use and reservations are conducted transparently, in accordance with the Regional Town Country Planning Act.
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