Students4ED petition Govt over city council's corruption

UNIVERSITY stu­dents under the ban­ner of the Stu­dents for Eco­nomic Devel­op­ment (S4ED) want Government to intervene in an alleged illegal demolition executed in Mbare last year following a court order executed improperly.

The youths con­tend that the demoli­tions were car­ried out by the Har­are City Coun­cil at the instig­a­tion of a local busi­ness­man on the basis of a court order which appears anom­al­ous.

They argued that they had joined President Mnangagwa as their University Chancellor in fighting corruption in line with the dictates of Vision 2030 of attaining a corrupt free Zimbabwe.

Last year, the students petitioned the Min­istry of Justice, Legal and Par­lia­ment­ary Affairs and insisted that they had support from the Minister.

S4ED chairperson, Mr Obvi­ous Mutizwa, said the demoli­tions which were car­ried out in Octo­ber last year after the city coun­cil leased to Ajara Trans­port and Logist­ics (Pvt) Ltd, a 5 000 square metre busi­ness stand at Mukuvisi in Mbare which S4ED said was brokered unpro­ced­ur­ally.

Mr Mutizwa said they had tracked the record of the judgement which was used to execute the demolitions and realised that it was missing, adding the judgement was handed during the heat of the Covide-19 when the courts were specialising with emergence cases.

He said they were smelling a dead rat on the way the judgement was delivered hence the need to understand the importance of the case insisting the demolitions were carried out by the Harare City Council with the writ of execution and the sheriff.

"The judg­ment delivered dur­ing the peak of the Covid-19 pan­demic when gov­ern­ments all over the whole world were insti­tut­ing strict lock­downs to con­tain the spread of the pan­demic in line with the World Health Organ­isa­tion guidelines," said Mr Mutizwa.

"Your petitioner being a member-based association working towards economic development in Zimbabwe is deeply concerned by the level of corruption being perpetrated by the opposition led Harare City Council in dubious land deals. Being citizens of Zimbabwe whose vision is inclusive and sustainable socio-economic development of Zimbabwe towards Vision 2030, we envision a corrupt free Zimbabwe by 2030 and we stand in solidarity with you, your Excellency in combating corruption towards a better Zimbabwe," said Mr Mutizwa.

"Now, therefore your petitioners beseech His Excellency Dr ED Mnangagwa to exercise his constitutional role and address the following issues of public concern Your Excellency 300 youths had their goods and properties worth thousands of dollars demolished by Harare City Council on 6 October 2022.

"Harare City Council unlawfully went on to execute a court order without a writ of execution. The Sheriff of the High Court of Zimbabwe had the legal mandate to execute the court order but he was not there nor his office during the execution. This alone amounts to that this legal process was a legal farce hence we deem it to be null a void pending your investigations," he said.

Mr Mutizwa argued that the occurrence of the demolitions spearheaded by the HCC were discriminatory and were a breach of the Zimbabwean Constitution. "The 300 youths operated vending stalls at stand number 40783 Cripps Road, measuring more than 5000m2, since 2005 and have been paying fees to the council.

"Mukuvisi Business Park Club youths applied for a lease on the on the 28th of August 20 to use the piece of land but were discriminated on political basis as they are Zanu- PF members which is a violation of section 20(1) and 20(3) of the constitution of Zimbabwe," said Mr Mutizwa. The affected youths were oper­at­ing under the Mukuvisi Busi­ness Park club, which is a prop­erly con­sti­tuted youth club, which is also an affil­i­ate of the S4ED, whose vis­ion is to bol­ster socio-eco­nomic devel­op­ment in a sus­tain­able man­ner.