Online Reporter
Wallace Ruzvidzo-Herald Reporter
THE Government has warned the public against occupying informal settlements in the hope that the Second Republic will regularise them.
Although Government set up 2021 as the cut off date for the regularisation of illegal settlements, many people have continued to develop housing projects illegally.
In a no-holds-barred address in Harare last Friday, Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe said Government was not promoting the continued illegal settling of people.
“We have already identified areas where we need to regularise and we will stick to those. Those that are not in that bracket as directed by His Excellency (President Mnangagwa) are not going to be regularised,” he said.
The Government, said Minister Garwe, had closed the door on the regularisation of more informal settlements outside those stipulated.
Those that continue to mushroom across the country will not be regularised, he said.
“And we are not going to entertain new settlements born out of the desire to be regularised…we have closed that door, we have learnt from previous mistakes and we are only dealing with Harare South like we said, we are dealing with parts of Hatcliffe, we are dealing with Caledonia and certain pockets in other cities and towns.
“But the major problems are in Harare, Harare South will be regularised, Caledonia will be regularised, Hatcliffe will be regularised, Epworth, which has been in existence before 1980, will be regularised.
“ . . . any other areas where these informal settlements are mushrooming, we will not entertain them.” Minister Garwe then explained the regularisation process.
“That regularisation does not refer to the Government coming and confirming what is wrong as being right, regularisation is referring to ensuring that the land that belongs to the State becomes part of the process of issuance of title deeds.
“So, the beneficiaries will pay for the land and pay for the services that are going to be provided by the companies that we are going to employ, the developers we are going to pay to do the regularisation process.
“So, it has got the land itself, the construction of roads, the construction of water reticulation systems, sewer reticulation systems, and other services that will be there,” he said.
New settlements such as those to be developed under the Nyore Nyore housing development programme in Manyame, will see the provision of other services including wi-fi by telecommunications companies.
“Now that we have the private sector highly motivated to join us, I think the communications companies such as Econet, NetOne, will join hands and ensure that they will provide wi-fi services as part of the first line services in the development of these new settlements
“This is the trajectory that we are going as a country, this is the direction that we must take as a country ourselves,” he said.
On land barons, Minister Garwe said Government would deal with them decisively.
“We also want all of us, to join His Excellency in kissing the existence of land barons goodbye. Let us throw away the land barons.
“Let us not accommodate those that are stealing land from Government and selling it to innocent Zimbabweans,” he said.
daniel chigunwe
