Water, water everywhere, and nowhere to live

Sydney Kawadza and Christopher Charamba Features Writers
Zimbabwe experienced a heavy downpour over the festive period. While the rains were most welcome, they left a trail of destruction in some parts of the country. Harare was not spared as many substandard homes in Epworth and Hopley were destroyed.

In Epworth, more than 500 families had their houses destroyed by the five-day downpour.

Some houses were razed to the ground and families have moved in with neighbours while they mobilise material and financial resources to rebuild their lives.

The area, especially in the Tembwe District, has been turned into a plastic town as families try to shield themselves from the effects of the inclement weather.

On January 1, sections of the walls of their homes gave in to the majesty of the rains, dampening the festive mood that had lit the two densely populated residential areas.

Despite the destruction, the Christmas paraphernalia survived and still dangled from the roofs proving the festive spirit was hard to break.

Mrs Susan Mpofu (49) of Epworth lost part of her three-roomed house.

Most of her belongings were destroyed when her house gave in to the vicious storm.

The widowed mother of 10 believes she is lucky to be alive after her house collapsed.

Disaster struck at 2am on January 1, shortly after the family had celebrated the coming of a New Year.

They surely could have turned back the hands of time had they known 2015 would bring such misery, on the first day.

“One of my older sons grabbed the youngest child by the neck and threw him towards the door to avoid the falling walls.

“I was sleeping in the adjacent room and escaped through the door. I was not so lucky. The roof fell on my leg and I just had a few bruises,” she explained.

Life has been difficult for people like Ms Alice Danise.

The rains that destroyed her Epworth home worsened her situation.

She and many others were afraid to build permanent structures without approval from the local authority.

“Fortunately, no one was injured. We continue living here because we have nowhere else to go. We have shielded ourselves using corrugated iron sheets while waiting for the authorities to allow us to build proper structures,” she said

Martha Kwandele (31), who lives with her husband and two children, moved in with her uncle after the outer walls of their home collapsed following the heavy rains.

“We have had these problems every rainy season. The walls do not hold when it rains,” she said.

Mr William Rushwaya and his wife Scholastic have sought shelter elsewhere.

They are now staying at a local building known as “The Thatch” with their three children.

Local councillor, Mr Japhet Chiromo, said most of the affected families moved on the then Bellapaise Farm during the fast-track land reform programme.

“We are afraid that more than 1 000 people lost their shelter after the rains. We are appealing to the authorities that these people have their stands regularised so that they build proper houses as they have been staying in these temporary buildings for more than 15 years,” he said.

Clr Chiromo appealed to Government and its partners to assist the affected families.

“The first priority should be shelter for affected families because some are living in the open,” he said.

In Harare South more than 250 families lost their homes due to the rains.

Zanu-PF district chairperson Mr Onai Mungayi said the affected area had about 700 families with more than 50 people being injured.

Most of the houses built as temporary structures have visible cracks and there are fears that more rains pose a bigger threat to the families.

“We are still visiting the affected families and there could be more victims. Most of the people affected are victims of Operation Murambatsvina but if council allows them to build proper structures there will not be any challenges,” he said.

Christopher Mudzunga (38,) who lost part of his house, said that the rains now depress Hopley residents.

“We fear a disaster if the rains continue. Our houses are not that strong and people could die during some of the storms,” he said.

There are also fears of disease outbreaks.

“We are afraid that drinking water will be contaminated by the Blair toilets. Water-borne diseases might affect people very soon. It’s a potential disaster that needs Government intervention,” Mr Mungayi commented.

He added: “Since moving here in 2007 we have never had serious outbreaks of water-borne diseases like cholera but the latest rains could result in severe outbreaks.”

Harare South Member of Parliament Cde Shadreck Mashayamombe said council should regularise stands in the area.

“Most families have been at Hopley for more than nine years and council should service those stands or allow private property developers to service the area. Those houses are on municipal land and it is the responsibility of council to give the people proper facilities to develop,” he said.

MP Mashayamombe, however, urged well-wishers to assist the affected families.

“We need temporary structures for the affected families before we can talk of other requirements. There are genuine fears that there would be serious disease outbreaks if the rains continue,” he said.

Urban planners said the solution is in regularising the illegal settlements.

Urban Development Corporation planning officer Mr Shingai Kawadza said the problems affecting such areas were a combination of both the building material used and the sites where the houses are built.

“In areas like Chitungwiza where land barons parcelled out stands in wetlands, the houses would not sustain the weather being experienced at the moment. Wetlands require special foundations which low-income earners cannot afford,” he said.

Mr Kawadza urged local authorities to allocate land on suitable sites.

“Proper planning must be followed and building inspections must be done in order to safeguard the sustainability of buildings. These inspections should be regular but that is not the case.

“Corruption is hampering the inspections,” he said.

He said buildings in Harare South were affected by the poor soils and building materials used.

University of Zimbabwe senior lecturer in the Department of Rural and Urban Planning Dr Innocent Chirisa said the need for accommodation has pushed people on to land that has not been serviced.

“The issues are economic and that explains why people are moving to these areas while avoiding to pay increasing rentals.

“They face challenges in the rainy season after using sun-burnt or even unburnt bricks to build their houses.

“Urban housing problems are pushing people to the periphery and we will continue to have such problems. Government has come up with such programmes as the National Housing Policy but without funding such programmes will be in vain,” he said.

He, however, emphasised the need for the regularisation of stands for people to build permanent structures.

Harare City Council principal communications officer Mr Michael Chideme said council would assist residents affected by the rains.

“In the spirit of preventing such disasters and preserving human lives, council would be working with the affected communities to see how they could be assisted,” he said.

Mr Chideme, however, added that the land audit the council would soon embark on will help in solving such problems.

“The affected areas are mostly informal settlements and are illegal but this should be dealt with through our land audit so that there’s equitable and proper allocation of stands in Harare,” he said.