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Herald Reporter
A round of demolitions is looming in Harare Metropolitan province following a resurgence of land invasions by land barons who are invading wetlands and land earmarked for development projects, a Government official said.
In a statement, Secretary for Provincial Affairs and Devolution in the Office of the President and Cabinet Mr Tafadzwa Muguti said that recently, land barons invaded the Monavale vlei which is one of the World acclaimed Ramsar sites.
Mr Muguti said in Mbare land earmarked for the Mbare Urban Renewal Development Project (housing complexes and commercial buildings) was invaded by space barons who took advantage of the delay in the approval of building permits by the City of Harare.
“The invasions across the province are largely influenced by the false belief that land invaders will be regularised by the Government under the ongoing land regularisation programme,” he said.
“The office of the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution has therefore established a Provincial Task Force comprising the Environmental Management Agency, the Zimbabwe Republic Police, councils of Harare, Chitungwiza, Ruwa and Epworth to address the menace of land barons.”
Mr Muguti said, “The task force shall remove all illegal land invaders, demolish any illegal structures and arrest all land invaders as well as the land barons responsible for selling land illegally.”
He said Harare Metropolitan Province has a zero-tolerance policy on corruption and lawlessness.
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