Open Letter to the acting Harare City Council Mayor in the wake of the demolition of houses in Budiriro

Alarmed with the insensitive, heartless and callous decision by the MDC Alliance led Harare City Council to demolish houses in Budiriro during the rainy season;

Aware that the uncouth decision is premised on a City Council Resolution empowering council to get a court order to demolish the so called "illegal structures";

Shocked with the crocodile tears shed by opposition party leaders in accusing the Zanu PF Government of being complicit in the demolition of these houses when opposition city fathers, as a matter of fact, passed the demolition resolution in question;

Concerned with the timing of the demolitions during this rainy season more so during a time of a serious pandemic;

Conscious of the efforts made by the Justice Uchena Commission to document the nefarious activities of land barons and efforts to prosecute such land barons;

WE THE ZANU PF YOUTH LEAGUE wish to put on record the following;

The Revolutionary Youth League commiserates with the residents of Budiriro who earlier this week had their houses demolished by the heartless Harare City Council on the basis of a court order obtained at the instigation of a meeting of the Councillors from Harare City Council. It must be noted from the outset that our commiseration with these unfortunate victims is not in any way an endorsement of illegal settlements or the illegal activities of land barons who under the slumber of Harare City Council have been allowed to run amok while city fathers make rich pickings.

It has been exposed by the new dispensation how councillors working in cahoots and under instruction from senior leaders of the MDC Alliance have illegally parcelled out land to their business allies and cronies.

We are yet to see the MDC Alliance take any action to reprimand, let alone discipline any of their party members implicated and exposed as members of this land baronage cartel. All we have seen to date are the proverbial attempts to throw mud on the wall hoping some of it would stick, in this instance all blame has been put on Zanu PF as if it has a majority in the Harare City Council.

The demolitions that happened in Budiriro must be exposed for the cheap attempt at politicking that they are. Following the demolitions, we have seen a splurge of messages from members of the opposition saying that the demolitions are a Zanu PF move. Confronted with evidence that the demolitions were authored by a city council resolution the narrative has shifted to state that the land barons who gave out the land are members of Zanu PF as if such a claim sanitises victimising house owners during the current rainy season. This narrative is depraved for a number of reasons. Firstly, the official position from Zanu PF on land barons is known. President Mnangagwa is on record having called out land barons. Beyond mere words, the President and First Secretary appointed the Justice Uchena led commission to investigate and document the activities of these so called land barons. Prosecutions founded on due process have been initiated against implicated land barons. Secondly, simple logic suggests that if in deed these land barons were appendages of Zanu PF then Zanu PF would have moved to protect these land barons, which protection we have not seen coming.

It is curious that these demolitions and the attempts to demonise Zanu PF have come at a time when the Zanu PF Government has swooped on Local Authorities investigating both elected Councillors and Management members alike to prosecute them for illegal activities. Names that come to mind in this regard include Jacob Mafume, Cainos Chingombe and Tendai Kwenda the latter two being council management employees. Interestingly allegations have been made that management employees are immune from prosecution because they are linked to ZANU PF by virtue of their appointment involving the Ministry of Local Government an insinuation that is not only false but is rendered void by the current arrests.

The move to demolish houses in Budiriro on the basis of a court order obtained in 2017 is clearly an attempt to divert attention of the masses from the thievery happening in the sunshine city council offices. Without disregard for the law we call upon Harare to city council to implement the following;

Halt demolitions on account of the rainy season and covid19 pandemic,

Communicate with owners of houses illegally built before demolishing such houses to allow them an opportunity to remove their valuables and seek alternative accommodation,

Depoliticise demolitions by working with Government to seek alternative accommodation for potential victims of demolitions before demolishing houses,

First seek ways to regularise such illegal settlements before resolving to demolish such houses,

Be diligent and detect such illegal settlements before whole communities are built up to protect citizens from land barons and future demolitions.

We acknowledge that some such land barons have been or are in the process of being prosecuted and the Youth League takes this opportunity to urge the Judiciary, the National Prosecuting Authority, the Zimbabwe Republic Police and ZACC to expedite the neutralisation of this menace of land barons.

The Youth League would also like to warn all land barons that their days are numbered. We would also like to warn the MDC Alliance to desist from creating crisis in Zimbabwe as a means to create a podium for them to attack ZANU PF without just cause. Such actions expose deep desperation and a thirst for relevance even at the cost of regard for human life.

#TrustED
#NoToSanctionsAgainstZimbabwe
#LandBaronsMustFall
#HousingForAll
#NoToDemolitionsWithoutAlternativeShelter

For and on Behalf of the Zanu PF Youth League

Cadre Tendai Chirau
Acting Deputy Secretary for Youth Affairs - Zanu PF Youth League

cc: Hon Cde. July G. Moyo - Minister of Local Government and Public Works MP
    Hon Cde. Daniel Garwe - Minister of Housing and Social Amenities MP