The Deputy Minister of Local Government Christopher Chingosho has admitted that the Zanu PF government knows well who the land barons are and is not willing to arrest these criminals who are fleecing desperate home seekers their hard earned cash through selling them land on illegal sites. Government for the past two years has been of a spree of demolishing houses which it said were built on wetlands and areas reserved for recreational and other facilities.
War veterans and known senior Zanu PF officials such as Philip Chiyangwa are some of the people controlling housing cooperatives and owning vast tracts of land which they are selling to desperate home seekers in Harare.
Addressing journalists in Harare on Tuesday Chingosho (in picures) shocked reporters when he said government is not moving to arrest land barons. “Those Cooperatives, yes they are well known by government but you would find that within those cooperatives also there are some people who are ignoring government plans and what they are supposed to do and you will find some of them being arrested in the near future,” said Chingosho who was flanked the ministry’s permanent secretary George Mlilo, the latter who was hostile to the media.
“Illegal allocation of land is not allowed but you still find people ignoring such type of warnings, they still proceed and illegally settle themselves that is the problem we are facing but otherwise people have been warned and they are aware that what they will be doing is not allowed”.
Chingosho said government has taken over the allocation of residential stands in Harare to avoid corruption. He was however reluctant to explain why they were reluctant over the years to stop the construction of houses at illegal sites.