Council to demolish illegal structures

Patrick Chitumba Senior Reporter
THE Bulawayo City Council is planning to demolish all illegal structures in an operation that would mainly target Killarney and Ngozi Mine where unapproved land developments are common. Thousands of residents have built illegal structures at Ngozi Mine, council’s rubbish dump and also at Killarney. In an interview yesterday, mayor, Councillor Martin Moyo said while the issue of illegal structures was not widespread in Bulawayo as compared to other cities like Harare, council was going to take action against those who had built on undesignated sites.

He however could not immediately give a timeframe on when the demolitions would be carried out.
“Yes the directive is there from the Local Government, Public Works and National Housing ministry for local authorities to demolish all illegal structures and we are going to do that in Ngozi Mine and Killarney,” he said.

Clr Moyo said most structures in Bulawayo were approved, adding that residents, institutions and companies were carrying out construction activities with the blessing of the local authority.

He said the municipality will not permit construction of temporary and illegal structures on undesignated areas.
“People should follow regulations and that way we won’t be at loggerheads,” said Clr Moyo.

Recently, urban councils countrywide were given the go-ahead to demolish thousands of houses and other structures that were erected illegally to ensure that all developments conform to prescribed land use policies.

Councils will target structures near major electricity infrastructure; on wetlands, sewer systems and planned roadways; and land reserved for other purposes.
Illegal settlements have been sprouting all over as demand for affordable accommodation and commercial stands keep growing.

The government intends to accelerate proper housing development through public-private partnerships, and targets to construct 125,000 housing units by 2018 under the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset).