Council resumes eviction of residents

Municipality of Gwanda has resumed eviction of some of residents from the Old Jahunda Township council rented houses.

A number of tenants in the town's oldest township have been served with eviction notices to leave the house by the 5th of March 2015. The notices sent to tenants by council indicate that council passed a resolution HH1531 on the 27th of November 2014 to evict the said "defaulting tenants" from the council houses.

According to the minutes council resolved to evict all tenants who were not complying to the regulations of the lease agreement the tenants entered into with council on occupation of the houses. Most of those affected by the evictions are tenants who have sublet the councils houses against the terms of the lease that prohibit subletting the premises.

Asked for details on how the people to be evicted from the houses were decided, a council employee at the housing department who would not be named said that most of the people being "evicted" from the houses are people who are no longer living in the houses and have let out the houses to other people. According to the council official, council requested the lease holding tenants to report to the offices to renew their leases and all those who failed to turn up in person have been issued with eviction notices as they have failed to renew their lease agreements.

Some of the residents who have been served with notices however dispute the council statement saying that they never received notices calling them to renew their lease agreements. Some claim that they received the notices to renew their lease but there was no deadline when to do so and were out of town at the time the papers were served.

On investigation, this publication established that indeed some of the occupants in the houses were not the lease holders. Some occupants claimed to be descendants of the original lease holders who signed the lease agreements some thirty years ago. The lease holders were either now deceased or living in rural areas coming to town regularly.

Asked on what they will do in the wake of the eviction notices the occupants said that they will not move out of the houses unless Council has alternative accommodation for them. The occupants claim to have reported the matter to the Gwanda Residents Association which has promised to meet them soon to map a way forward.

Asked for a comment, the spokesperson of the Residents Association Mr Bekezela Maduma Fuzwayo confirmed receiving complaints from the residents about the evictions. He however would not be drawn to comment further saying that the Association is waiting for report from the ward committee and the outcome of the meeting between the affected residents and the committee. Fuzwayo also confirmed knowledge of council notices asking residents to visit the council offices to regularise their lease agreements. He expressed disappointment that some of the tenants did not respond to the call.

"This matter is not a new development, it started last year and we held meetings with council and residents asking the matter to be reconsidered and done more transparently. Council agreed to defer it on condition that residents visited the council offices to regularise their leases. We expected all affected residents to take advantage of that amnesty but if some didn't then it makes it difficult for us. We will tackle the matter when all the information is made available to us and make sure that those who are not meant to leave the houses are not evicted," said Fuzwayo.

"We will do our best to advocate for the residents especially those who are occupying the houses as children of the original lease holders as some of them were born and grew up living in those houses," added Fuzwayo.