ABOUT 200 homeseekers and the Harare City Council (HCC) are facing off over stands allocated under the St Martins Housing Scheme along Airport Road in Harare.
The homeseekers, who belong to the Happiness Housing Pay
Scheme, claim that they entered into an agreement with the local authority to
purchase the stands in 2019, but up to now have not been given the greenlight
to begin developing the stands.
Some of the beneficiaries are set to lose their stands,
which are part of the 200-metre buffer zone of the Commando Barracks along
Airport Road in Harare despite paying for them.
The local authority allocated the stands to the
beneficiaries in the medium density suburb of St Martins on layout plan number
TP2F/CR/022, with sizes ranging between 300 and 2 000 square metres.
It was agreed that members of the pay for your house scheme
would contribute resources on a pro-rata basis as determined by the project
management committee for the completion of infrastructural development of the
area.
The members, however, claim that they paid the full
servicing fee in 2019, but the council failed to take the necessary steps to
ensure that the land was serviced. Yesterday, they gathered at the allocated
area, hoping to hold a meeting with the city fathers.
Happiness Housing Pay Scheme spokesperson Farai Nyamupinga
said: “According to the agreement we had
with the local authority, we were supposed to have monthly meetings to discuss
issues of concern. What we had was less
than 10 meetings in five years since 2019.”
He said over the weekend, they were surprised that the
council now planned to bring in a surveyor without their knowledge.
“We raised over $500 000 for the servicing of the area, but
it was wiped out by inflation before anything was done. We deserve to know as
stakeholders what will happen to our land.”
Harare City Council spokesperson Innocent Ruwende confirmed
that some of the beneficiaries were set to lose their stands, but said they
would receive alternative allocations.
“Our plans were approved, but the issue of the buffer zone
by the soldiers was raised thereafter, so it is beyond our control. So those
people who were allocated stands within the 200-metre buffer zone will be
reallocated stands elsewhere and this is for security reasons. We also later
received an ecological report that showed that some of the allocated stands are
in a wetland so those again will be affected because there are no two ways on
wetlands conservation. There is no attempt to prejudice stands,” Ruwende said.
Chairperson of the pay scheme, Dave Jenje said: “It appears
the local authority is failing to abide by its own laws. It is questionable why
the local authority would allocate a stand without giving allowance for the
buffer zone of the barracks. Up to now, the environment impact assessment
hasn’t yet been conducted. Some of the beneficiaries have already passed on
before they have enjoyed their benefits. Council should follow the necessary
procedures so that we benefit from what is due to us.” Newsday
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