City council warns of more demolitions

07 Jun, 2024 - 00:06 0 Views
City council warns of more demolitions Demolished tuckshops at Makasi in Natview Park, Mutare. - Picture: Tinai Nyadzayo

 

Tendai Gukutikwa
Post Reporter

IN a bid to restore sanity, City of Mutare has launched an operation to pull down all illegal structures within road servitudes.

Many of these illegal structures were being turned into brothels and drug havens.

Acting town clerk, Mr Blessing Chafesuka said the ongoing demolition of illegal structures on major roads is in line with the city’s masterplan and President Mnangagwa’s call to action to restore order and sanity in cities’ urban planning.

“The call to action by President Mnangagwa gave several directives to local authorities, and as a council, we are way ahead in the implementation of most of the directives and expectations,” he said.

He also said local authorities are being accused of illegally selling land along road servitudes, hence the directive to restore sanity in those servitudes.

“That is why you are seeing all illegal structures along road servitudes being demolished. We had not allocated anyone that land. We gave them warnings, and initially we faced resistance, but now everyone has come along and we are working together.

“In most cases, these areas had been turned into drug havens and brothels, and we are now putting a stop to that. Cholera outbreaks were also rampant in these areas due to lack of proper sanitary facilities,” he said.

Mr Chafesuka also said they are working on allocating land to Small-to-Medium Enterprises (SMEs), churches and vendor markets in jurisdictions with proper sanitary facilities to prevent the continuous outbreaks of disease like cholera that had plagued the city.

“I have instructed our city engineer to look for places for the legal allocation of land so that people can properly lease and pay their obligations to council. By the end of June, we should be done with this process, and will allocate them land in identified areas. We appeal to our people to bear with us as we try to bring sanity in our city for the benefit for everyone,” he said.

Mr Chafesuka said their masterplan envisions a well-planned and organised city, and the removal of illegal structures is a crucial step towards achieving this goal.

The blitz has been widely welcomed by residents and stakeholders who were lamenting the proliferation of illegal structures along the city’s major roads.

However, in desperate bid to avoid the council’s demolition team over the past two weeks, those who had erected illegal structures along road servitudes have been dismantling them on their own.

 

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