By Harare Residents Trust| The City of Harare has virtually legalised the construction of houses on illegally acquired land in a move genuinely showing that the Council does not wish to end the reign of land barons and illegal activities on its land, including wetlands.

By legislating that they will be regularising all houses and other buildings built without following council’s rules and regulations, the City of Harare is openly encouraging desperate homeseekers to secure their place without going through council, and then approach council to have the illegal properties registered. The council would then charge penalty fees and other charges for one to be considered now legal. The move by the council shows a total disregard of processes in favour of short cuts in order to raise more revenue through capitalising on the desperation by the illegal settlers who fear that their properties would be demolished if they do not pay the fines and regularise their properties with the Council.

The Council paddocks on the outskirts of Kuwadzana and Mufakose have now partly been converted into residential stands. These paddocks served to purify the sewerage from the sewer ponds before the water flows into the rivers that lead into the main water bodies. By increasing the human population in that strategic area means the council has dismally failed to control urban planning and development. The resultant urbanisation is pathological with likelihood of more housing units exerting more pressure on the sewer and water infrastructure, and ultimately a breakdown of other social service delivery systems.

Ideally, the Council should have fully utilised its enforcement divisions so that all illegal activities are nipped in the bud before they mature as they have now done. Land barons have always worked with Councillors and Council officials in the Housing and Community Services Department and the Department of Works on plan approvals. The regularisation programme is only motivated by the desperation to raise revenue to pay salaries, but the council land will soon run out and without upgraded infrastructure, where else would they get the quick revenue to cover the gaps. The ad hoc management of the council demonstrates the incapacity of most managers in council to modernise urbanisation, and properly structure Harare suburbs in a systematic manner.

The only other reason they have regularised is to save the criminals who have illegally authorised the invasion of our wetlands and parcelled out council land to people who paid money to individuals instead of the council. The biggest beneficiary of this huge scandal are city managers and councillors who were involved. And now they come up with the regularisation agenda in order to escape scrutiny.

Housing delivery must be expedited, but not in an unsustainable manner. Land use must be relevant, justified and of benefit to citizens and the environment.