Human Rights and Residents’ Associations In Epworth Up In Arms Against Local Board

A human rights lobby group and residents associations are up in arms with the Epworth Local Board for demolishing more than 200 structures whilst threatening 356 families with eviction.

More than 200 Epworth residents had their houses demolished whilst 356 more face eviction through the Regularisation Exercise which was carried out by the Epworth Local Board since 2014 , despite High Court Orders barring the Local Authority of such a move.  The human rights lobby group and Epworth Residents Associations have described the local authority’s move as abuse of office and a violation of human rights.

According to human rights lobby group Citizens Protection Council of Zimbabwe (#DAMUTANDE UBULEMBU FOR ED), an  affiliate of the ruling ZANU PF party, and Residents Trusts Associations who represent Epwoth residents – namely Kushinga Epworth Residents Trust (KERT) and Epworth Urban Residents Association (EURA) –  the Epworth Local Board has also displayed a blatant disrespect of the law.

More than 200 people had their houses demolished and were left homeless,  with the land being later resold by the Epworth Local Board to new homesekers.   The human rights lobby group and Epworth Residents Association have raised concern on what they alleged was the “alarming rate of corruption and abuse of office in the Epworth Local Board administration”.

Several residents are now living in poverty, the human rights lobby Group claims, with the most affected being women and children amongst them orphans and widows.

The Regurlarasation Exercise was done in terms of Section 43 of the Regional, Town & Country Planning Act 29:12 but unfortunately the layout plan H.O.F 8 SL 877 approved 30/8/2013 with 3856 stands from 17 629 – 21 485 is not the one and the same with the one survey pegged. Neither was it approved by either the Department of Physical Planning or the Surveyor  General ‘s office as required by the Land Survey Act 20:12. Hence the allocation of stands before the above requirements were met became illegal.

It is alleged that from 2014 to 2024 hundreds of families had their homes demolished in the Regularisation Exercise carried out by the Epworth Local Board in a bid to create proper housing documentation in the locality which lies East of the capital, Harare.

“More than 200 families have been displaced since 2014 to date, and the High Court ruled again the demolishing and downsizing of stands in Epworth but to our suprise the Epworth Local Board proceeded with the illegal act,” said Chris Chuchu, the Executive President of Citizens Protection Council of Zimbabwe (pictured).

“Many people were left homeless and are now suffering and living in extreme poverty, mostly women and children amongst them orphans and widows.” he added.

The Epworth Local Board is being accused of abuse of office after enacting the shady Regularisation Exercise by downsizing residents’ stands thereby creating three stands out of one normal stand.

The decision caused confusion in the reallocation of stand numbers as many structures which were not sited as per the new map were demolished, depriving hundreds of their homes and leaving them homeless.

The human rights lobby group saod this was avoidable if the exercise was done professionally.

High Court papers in possession of The ObserverZim dated December 12, 2022 in a prohibition order handed down by Justice Chinamora said that the Epworth Local Board was not allowed to demolish structures until final judgment, but the local authority still went ahead with the demolishing and reallocation.

“The demolition and damage to the applicants’ buildings and structures, and property by the respondent, in the absence of any court order is declared unlawful self help,” reads the first order of the High Court ruling.

“The respondent be and is hereby directed within 30 days from date of a service of this order to remove all permanent structures on the original roads cited on the approved Layout Plan (H.O.F.7 ) dated 19th June 2013,),” adds the second order of the ruling.

The human rights lobby group and residents associations have approached several responsible authorities, namely the Local Government and Public Works, Resident Ministers Office and the Zimbabwe Republic Police to intervene and resolve the crisis, so as to end the suffering homeless and innocent residents are experiencing, but their efforts hit a brick wall as the authorites have apparently been reluctant to address the issue.

“We have approached the Ministry of Local Governments office and reported several times to the Police but to no avail,” said the Dandemutande4ED chairman, Chuchu.

The criteria which was used in downsizing stands is that: When a stand is being legally planned, it is in terms of Town Planning rules according to Layout Plan Standardized Size which determines the general size of a residential, commercial, open space, road, school etc, from the available hectares/ available land which layout plan is subject to approval by the Department of Physical Planning – now called Spacial Planning.

The process is that the approved layout plan, when Survey pegged by a qualified Land Surveyor appointed by the Surveyor General, that survey exercise should be done in terms of the Land Survey Act 20:12 and must also be examined and approved by the Surveyor General before allocation of those stands to the supposed beneficiaries.

Chuchu said this was the legal position which was “deliberately violated by the council in connivance with the land surveyors in violation of their Memorandum of Agreement”.

Efforts to get a comment from the Epworth Local Board were fruitless as their mobile phones went unanswered.