The unscrupulous cooperatives found it easy to occupy the land as no-one dared resist their moves, fearing a political backlash from Grace, her husband President Robert Mugabe, and the Zanu (PF) faction led by Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is now vice president. The shady accommodation agencies claimed that the land was set aside for housing projects initiated by the First Lady, when, in fact,that was a lie spread by people who seek to make selfish gains.
The deputy mayor of Harare, Thomas Muzuva, indicated the amount of fear at the local authority when he admitted that municipal management and councillors could not remove the billboards bearing the names of different nationalist leaders that had been designated as the names of the cooperatives because they would “pay the price” for doing so. These illegal housing schemes mushroomed at a time when Zanu (PF) grabbed an open piece of land used as the venue of its congress and called it Robert Mugabe Square.
While the fear of a backlash against those opposing the land grabs is understandable, that does not mean nothing must be done. Now that the congress is over, there is need to return to sanity. The city authorities must sit down and devise ways of reversing the land grabs.
It is clear that the invasions were done outside the law, so the first thing to do is to appeal to our legal processes to ensure that those who grabbed public and private property are ejected and made to abide by the law of the land or face the consequences. There is no way in which a modern city like Harare can just stand by and watch as greedy malcontents take the law into their own hands.
Civil society, particularly residents’ associations, must also step in and lobby against the madness that we saw unfold last year. A clear message must be sent to the world that the days of lawlessness are over. There is need to proceed in accordance with our statutes and regulations.
Post published in: Editor: Wilf Mbanga