HUNDREDS of people in Waterfalls have been left homeless
after Harare City Council demolished houses built on land reserved for the
planned Harare-Chitungwiza railway line.
The exercise started last week and more demolitions are looming
as council is seeking a court order to raze houses within the range of the
railway corridor.
Construction of the railway line was mooted in 1986. The
railway line is supposed to run parallel to Seke Road from Chitungwiza right
into Harare’s central business district.
Scores of affected residents in area between Mainway
Meadows phase 1 and phase 2 were on Friday counting their losses with some
gathering bricks and other building materials that had not been damaged during
the demolition.
Harare City Council spokesperson Mr Michael Chideme said
the demolitions were carried out on developments that were illegally
constructed along the Harare-Chitungwiza railway reserve.
“Those who built houses within the railway reservation will
be removed through a court order since there are already people residing in the
houses,” he said.
“The people in the surrounding area were happy and
encouraged the city to evict all the illegal settlers. The land is a
reservation hence the settlers could not have bought the stands legally.”
One of the affected residents and a mother of four who only
identified herself as Mai Tinotenda said they were allocated the stands by land
barons.
“We were allocated the stands sometime last year. The
politicians we paid promised to regularise our houses, but we were shocked to
see a council bulldozer demolishing our houses and we were told the land was
reserved for a railway line,” she said.
In Chitungwiza, private land developers have started
pegging and servicing stands on a piece of land adjacent to Chikwanha shopping
centre, which has been reserved for construction of the same railway line.
Zimbabwe National Organisation of Associations and
Residents Trust, Mr Shepherd Chikomba said this was devastating to the
unsuspecting residents who were allocated the land and defrauded by
unscrupulous land barons.
Harare Residents Trust director Mr Precious Shumba said the
City of Harare should not be selective in its application of the law on land
developments. Herald
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