100 illegal Midlands settlements to be destroyed Minister Larry Mavima

Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief
GOVERNMENT has ordered local authorities in the Midlands province to stop allocating land to private developers while a recommendation has been made to destroy over 100 illegal settlements that exist in cities and growth points across the province.

About 100 illegal settlements have been identified in the Midlands Province, with land barons at the centre of rampant cases of unlawful allocation of unserviced residential stands, most of them on wetlands and river basins.

A damning report from the Government indicates that 25 of 100 irregular settlements in Midlands are sitting on wetlands, a development that saw residents losing valuables running into thousands of dollars following the flooding of their houses.

Some of the affected residents are at Ascot Extension and Emobuild Muwunga Housing Scheme among others.

The report further exposes how some Ministry of Local Government officials in charge of the Hlalani Kuhle/Garikayi programme allocated some additional 400 stands in Ascot Extension in violation of the approved layout plan.

The land developers have also been accused by the Government of flouting Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) conditions in respect of the 30-metre flood buffer zone.

In Emobuild, there are five stands within a 30m flood buffer zone.

The report recommends that all the affected residents be moved while irregularities should be rectified at the expense of the land developers.

Addressing local authorities’ bosses from across the province at a meeting in Gweru recently, Midlands Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister, Larry Mavima also ordered that about 25 home seekers who were settled on wetlands be allocated alternative homes by the responsible private developers by June this year.

He said the illegal settlements were the major causes of the floods that hit the city last month adding that the Government was working on corrective measures to bring to book some private developers who were illegally parcelling out stands on undeveloped areas.

Minister Mavima said local authorities were banned from allocating undeveloped pieces of land to protect desperate home seekers from being swindled by land barons.

Minister Mavima said in line with the Government’s thrust to achieve an upper middle-class economy, all illegal structures in the province should be removed while local authorities have been tasked to improve infrastructure.

He said District Development Coordinators and Rural District Council chief executives should spearhead the task to remove illegal structures which were identified across the province.

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