Zanu PF is distributing stands to the Youths throughout the Country. The exercise is not supported by the Laws of the Country. The National Housing Policy stipulates that Government should avail land to Local Authorities that is mandated to do all the planning together with the Department of Physical Planning. Stands are then made available to the people through Councils, Government, Private Developers or Cooperatives. Political parties absolutely have no role in the distribution of stands.
We are worried as a Residents Forum that Government is now letting and availing land to political parties, the whole process is illegal and we urge your Ministry to put in place measures to correct the situation. Previous experience have shown that land parceled out this way will lead to residents settling where there are no services and requisite public amenities, leading to the growth of informal settlements. Caledonia and Harare South settlements are the cases in point.
In addition, as representatives of the residents we feel that the constitution of our country should be respected accordingly as it states in section 56 sub section 3, that “Every person has the right not to be treated in an unfairly discriminatory manner on such grounds as their nationality, race…political affiliation…social status, or whether they were born in or out of wedlock.†In light of this constitutional provision, all residents should be treated equally and fairly in the allocation of residential stands.
Your cooperation in this regard is greatly appreciated.
Yours faithfully
Denford Ngadziore
Coordinator Residents Forum (Ref)
Post published in: Letters to the Editor