Tinaye Agere
Online Reporter
PROPER town planning procedures and processes have been dumped in Harare and land barons operate like warlords being shielded by interfering city councillors, so access to residential land is now a free for all, principal city council housing officer Edgar Dzehonye said yesterday.
The Commission of Inquiry into the financial affairs and operations of the Harare City Council dating back to 2017 heard from Mr Dzehonye that the regularisation approach adopted by the council was like ‘manna from heaven’ for the land barons and their allies.
President Mnangagwa set up the five-member commission led by retired judge Justice Maphios Cheda in May.
Testifying before the commission, Mr Dzehonye criticised the continuous interference of councillors in housing allocation, which “shields land barons”.
“Proper town planning procedures and processes have been thrown out of the window and into the trash can,” he said.
“Through regularisation, the basic tenants of land management have been relegated to the dustbin. And barons now operate like warlords to the extent that Harare is now a replica of Somalia.
“Land barons are now categorised by their wards as they use complicit councillors as their conduits to get council protection from eviction.”
Mr Dzehonye alleged that the regularisation was being done indiscriminately, including on vacant spaces of land.
“The administrators in council have been stripped of their functions to allocate land,” he said. “Under regularisation, allocation of land is done directly by councillors through district officers. Officials only do the clerical work of producing council documents to certify the allocation done by councillors under regularisation.”
Mr Dzehonye disclosed that the period leading up to the August 2023 elections saw a significant spike in meetings related to the fast-track regularisation programme.
“The frequency of the meetings expose a ‘last supper approach’ to land thievery,” Mr Dzehonye said. “Meetings held on 22 May 2023, 29 May 2023, 19 June 2023, 3 July 2023, 6 July 2023 and 24 July 2023 by the Joint Environmental Management and Education, Health, Housing and Community Services and Licensing Committees demonstrate an unbridled penchant for land baronism by councillors and strategically positioned city council personnel as well as land barons,” he said.
He referenced a leaked audio recording in which Councillor Blessing Duma was heard urging fellow councillors to expedite the regularisation programme, allegedly in an effort to undermine President Mnangagwa’s title deeds scheme.
“A social media voice note by Clr Blessing Duma, explains the political nature of the regularisation exercise. A transcribed version of the voice note can be availed for ease of reference. The content of the voice note proves that the regularisation exercise is not people-centred. It is a political project with ulterior motives,” said Mr Dzehonye.
When questioned by Commissioner Mr Tafadzwa Charles Hungwe about the presence of cooperatives in low-density areas that were regularised, Mr Dzehonye described the phenomenon as strange.
“It’s strange to see cooperatives emerging in low-density areas like Chisipite, Borrowdale and Highlands,” he said.
“We have even encountered cases where an individual has registered as a cooperative. For instance, one person in Highlands was registered as a cooperative, and their name was put forward for regularisation consideration.”
Mr Dzehonye said cooperatives were no longer serving their intended purpose, as they were originally designed to benefit low-income earners in high-density areas, not medium and low-density suburbs.
Councillor George Mujajati, chairperson of the human resources and general purposes committee, faced intense questioning by the commission, amid accusations of facilitating the reshuffling of workers.
Despite his role as human resources chair, Mr Mujajati was unable to provide the exact number of council employees.
He was also reprimanded for being evasive in his responses and Justice Cheda adjourned the hearing until next Tuesday, sternly warning Mr Mujajati to come prepared and to stop being evasive in his testimony.
Online Reporter