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Trust Freddy
Herald Correspondent
Harare City Council demolished houses.
Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi says the Government has launched an investigation into the demolitions that were carried out by the Harare City Council in the city without a court order.
This came out on Tuesday in the National Assembly after legislators demanded to know the rationale behind demolishing the houses.
Responding to legislators, Minister Ziyambi said the Government was not involved in the recent demolitions, saying he had verified the absence of a court order.
“In fact, in this particular case, it is the Municipality of Harare that demolished the houses without a court order,” he said.
“Everything that the honorable member has said falls squarely into the hands of the city authorities.
“They are the ones that have been allowing the buildings to be built. They are the ones that have demolished, you can go and check, they demolished without even a court order and we have also requested that this be investigated.”
Minister Ziyambi also concurred with fellow legislators that authorities should prevent the illegal construction of houses and not wait until the houses have been completed to effect demolitions.
“I agree with you,” he said. “Why wait until a house has been built and then you send bulldozers to destroy it? Some of the houses were beautiful structures and it is not even fair to those people.
“So, I believe it is a point of national interest but it is a point that our local authorities largely controlled by the opposition, must also have a humane face and be able to articulate some of these issues from a human rights perspective.”
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