Chronicle EditorLovemore Meya Herald Correspondent
THE Zimbabwe Republic Police and Chitungwiza Municipality have clashed after council resolved to sell houses in Unit N to sitting tenants, but the law enforcement agents argue they have a 40-year lease with council. Council has since received applications from the sitting tenants in Unit N, who are set to benefit through the home ownership scheme.
The scheme has a provision to sale the houses to people with a two-year occupancy. Acting Town Clerk Ms Charity Maunga told the full council meeting recently that they were some challenges they were facing as ZRP claims to have a 40-year lease agreement with council. This was after caretaker commission chairperson Mr Madzudzo Pawadyira sought progress on the matter.
“We do have a challenge there, we did advertise for the houses in terms of the Urban Councils Act. After that period had expired, we received a letter from ZRP saying they are objecting to the sale of those houses on the basis that they had a lease agreement with the council. Their view is that the lease agreement is for 40 years and they are saying it still subsists. Their view is that even if council is working on the exercise to sell, that auction is supposed to be exercised to ZRP not tenants in the houses,” said Ms Maunga.
Ms Maunga said the ZRP did not attach the lease agreement for verification by council.
“But before we advertised, we wrote a letter to them through the quartermaster of ZRP, trying to establish whether they have any issues with us selling the houses.
We never received the response. We only received the response at the tail-end of the issues.
“I have instructed the director of housing to request for lease agreement, which is being referred to because it was not addressed for us to map the way forward.”
Mr Pawadyira told Ms Maunga to ensure that they work with timelines.
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