The informal settlement houses over 90 families but without
marked roads, water and functioning sewage system.
A fortnight ago, the settlement was hit hard by flash
floods that destroyed property and le residents seeking shelter at nearby
Budiriro 5 CABS area.
Speaking during a visit to the settlement minister of
National Housing and Social Amenities, Daniel Garwe said Government will be
investigating the matter further.
“This is an informal settlement which for an unknown reason
the local authority decided to sell the land to home seekers.
“There is no road that was constructed, there is no water
and there is no sewer and surprisingly these people are paying rates to council.
“They are paying for refuse collection and water, but all
these services are non-existent. Hence the Ministry of Local Government is
going to take up on itself to investigate and find out what was happening,”
said minister Garwe.
Minister Garwe has also warned council officials who are
conniving with land barons. “There is also a team of land barons who are
working in cahoots with council official and councillors to collect money from
home seekers.
“However, we have instructed people to stop paying money
whether to council or to these informal land barons so that we put a stop to
this scourge,” he said.
He said the scourge has spread across the country. “This
is the beginning of a cleaning process since this has not only affected
Budiriro but happening throughout the country,” he said.
Government is treating the Budiriro case as an emergency
and is looking to evacuate the families to a safer place.
“This is an emergency, the first step is to evacuate these
people from Budiriro to a safe place whilst we are looking for a suitable area
where they can build decent houses,” he said.
Earlier, both the Harare City and Chitungwiza Councils were
ordered by Minister Garwe to quickly move people who were allocated stands in
wetlands after continuous heavy rains. H Metro
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