Residents face eviction from contentious LakeCity housing project after rejecting regularisation 

SEVERAL informal settlers are facing eviction from LakeCity after spurning an opportunity to regularise their stay on land belonging to property developer, Warwickshire (Pvt) Ltd.

Warwick has been at the centre of a dispute since the land was occupied during the land reform programme by homeseekers, including war veterans.

Following legal battles, Warwickshire reclaimed the rights to the land, paving the way for a mixed housing development, LakeCity.

The informal settlers were offered a regularisation deal by the company, which would grant them title deeds.

At least 500 settlers signed up to the regularisation programme, dubbed the Legacy Beneficiary Programme.

However, 100 residents resisted the overtures, leading the property developer to apply for an eviction order at the Court, which was granted earlier this week.

Warwickshire co-director, Brenda Tembo, confirmed that eviction notices have been served to the resisting residents, who now face the prospect of displacement.

“The proposal was that these families, being desperate home seekers, would have an opportunity to enjoy the amenities and civil works that would be provided during the implementation of the subdivision.

“That meant we created what we call the Legacy Beneficiary Programme, and these individuals were invited and given concessionary terms to pay over an extended period of time, and would be paying a development levy. At the inception of the Legacy Beneficiary Programme, we had a massive influx in April 2024.

“However, there were a few that refused to join for their personal reasons, and we made every effort to engage them through the leadership and legal counsel so that we could all be incorporated.

“So when it became evident that there were parties that were not keen to be part of the programme and all our efforts came to nought, it reached a point where an existing eviction order had to be implemented,” said Tembo.

Harare has recently been gripped by land battles emanating from illegal settlements and poor housing planning.

A significant amount of land is under dispute, having been occupied covertly and illegally.

This year, the City Council was forced by the Central Government to halt the demolition of houses, a corrective measure against informal settlements. _*NewZimbabwe*_