Chronicle Editor
Munyaradzi Musiiwa, Sunday News Reporter
THE Government will soon start relocating people in rural areas whose homesteads were built on wetlands to concur with the impending demolition of houses and subsequent relocation of people on dysfunctional urban settlements that were developed on swamplands, Environment, Climate Change, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu has said.
In an interview, Minister Ndlovu said the Government through Environmental Management Agency (Ema) has completed the initial mapping exercise meant to identify wetlands in towns and cities to pave way for the relocation and subsequent demolition of houses in dysfunctional settlements. Minister Ndlovu said Ema was expected to come up with a comprehensive and scientific map that identifies all wetlands countrywide, an exercise that is expected to be completed in May.
“All houses on wetlands should be removed. We realised that even in rural areas, some of the houses were collapsing following the incessant rains because they were built on wetlands. So the wetlands mapping exercise will not be confined to urban areas but will cover the whole country including rural areas. All people whose homesteads are on wetlands in rural areas will be relocated as well,” he said.
Minister Ndlovu said Ema was working with Zimbabwe National Geo-space Agency and University of Zimbabwe (UZ) to come up with a scientific map that will be uploaded on google maps to guide prospective developers and local authorities on land utilisation.
He said the Government was also in the process of classifying wetlands that would also guide property developers and local authorities on which areas are prohibited for infrastructural development as well as prescribing the most suitable way of utilising the swamplands.
“We want to provide a wetlands utilisation framework. What we are doing as Government is that we will come up with a well comprehensive and scientific map for wetlands. My ministry through the Environmental Management Agency (Ema) working with Zimbabwe National Geo-space Agency and University of Zimbabwe (UZ) came up with a draft map which utilises Global Positioning System (GPS). So this map once we are done proofing it, will be available on google maps so that people and local authorities can identify where there are wetlands,” he said.
Minister Ndlovu said the ministry was coming up with a wetlands policy that will give prospective land users guidelines on land utilisation.
“There is a multi-pronged approach on the issue of regularising and correcting past mistakes on how the wetlands were utilised. Wetlands play an important role in the ecosystem, in water conservation and purification. The new wetlands policy focuses on mapping and classification of these wetlands. We know the wetlands are of different intensity. We will provide guidelines for these wetlands in terms of lands use. We want to put order in the country by the end of the year,” he said.
Government has already identified dysfunctional urban settlements with more than 21 000 houses that are going to be demolished while the occupants will be relocated to new regularised sites. Harare has the highest number with more than 15 000 houses.
National Housing and Social Amenities Minister Daniel Garwe said Government will only provide on-site and off-site infrastructure for relocated people whose houses were built on wetlands but affected families will foot the expenses for the construction of the houses and were also at liberty to seek compensation from those who sold them the affected land. He said Government was in the process of identifying land to relocate the affected families.
“The relocation of the people that were affected by floods and those whose houses are in river banks is a matter of emergency.
We are now in the process of identifying suitable land and we will come up with a plan. Once the land has been surveyed then people will be relocated to construct their own houses. Government is only providing on-site and off-site infrastructure,” he said.
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