News / National
Harare Commission uncovers massive land looting
27 Aug 2024 at 07:50hrs | Views
The Commission of Inquiry into Harare City Council operations has revealed that ahead of last year’s harmonised elections, councillors from the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) engaged in a large-scale illegal land allocation scheme, distributing over 5,000 plots.
This was part of a broader pattern observed in previous elections, where councillors, uncertain of re-election, resorted to land grabs to gain voter support.
The inquiry found that 349 illegal housing cooperatives were hurriedly regularised, with councillors seeking to regularise an additional 5,000 stands bypassing official procedures.
Harare town clerk Hosiah Chisango admitted that councillors were exploiting land regularisation policies for personal gain, particularly during election years.
Evidence presented included minutes from a May 2022 joint committee meeting, showing that 24 settlements with 5,066 stands were recommended for regularisation without proper oversight. It was also revealed that councillors had revoked court orders for demolitions and colluded with land barons to conduct unauthorized land sales.
Chisango acknowledged that the council was effectively legitimizing illegal land invasions, with land reserved for public amenities being converted into residential plots.
The commission also heard about a practice known as "rotating," where councillors intimidated senior officials to comply with their demands.
Critics, including directors from the Combined Harare Residents Association and the Harare Residents Trust, condemned the councillors for prioritizing personal profit over their duties to the community.
This was part of a broader pattern observed in previous elections, where councillors, uncertain of re-election, resorted to land grabs to gain voter support.
The inquiry found that 349 illegal housing cooperatives were hurriedly regularised, with councillors seeking to regularise an additional 5,000 stands bypassing official procedures.
Harare town clerk Hosiah Chisango admitted that councillors were exploiting land regularisation policies for personal gain, particularly during election years.
Evidence presented included minutes from a May 2022 joint committee meeting, showing that 24 settlements with 5,066 stands were recommended for regularisation without proper oversight. It was also revealed that councillors had revoked court orders for demolitions and colluded with land barons to conduct unauthorized land sales.
Chisango acknowledged that the council was effectively legitimizing illegal land invasions, with land reserved for public amenities being converted into residential plots.
The commission also heard about a practice known as "rotating," where councillors intimidated senior officials to comply with their demands.
Critics, including directors from the Combined Harare Residents Association and the Harare Residents Trust, condemned the councillors for prioritizing personal profit over their duties to the community.
Source - The Herald
