Councillor Denounces Ongoing "Operation Murambatsvina" In Harare
The City of Harare has distanced itself from an ongoing operation by the government targeting illegal structures in Harare Metropolitan Province.
The government last week announced a 45-day operation to demolish illegal structures in Harare, Chitungwiza, Epworth, and Ruwa.
Harare City Council’s Small Medium Enterprise (SMEs) committee chairperson, Denford Ngadziore (CCC), told NewsDay that the demolitions were being at the wrong time as the country is in the middle of the rainy season. Said Ngadziore:
We are worried about the demolitions of Murambatsvina. We are not part of Murambatsvina by the government.
l am told they are in Chitungwiza and they are coming to us. We are worried as Harare City Council. We are worried about the timing, we are in the rainy season.
This is not the first time this has happened and this is heartless. l remember the government demolishing houses in Budiriro during the rainy season (in June last year), leaving many people exposed to the rain.
“Operation Murambatsvina” was a government operation that was launched in 2005 targetting illegal structures across the country.
According to human rights groups, the operation destroyed about 700 000 structures and affected 2.4 million, most of them in the informal sector.
Harare Secretary for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Tafadzwa Muguti told NewsDay that the City of Harare had not formally communicated its displeasure about the operation. Muguti said:
We stand guided by the press statement we released recently that we are working together with all local authorities.
Harare City Council have not formally communicated to us that they are not working with us, what is wrong with helping them (Harare City Council) to remove dirt?
