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Zimbabwe to conduct nationwide assessment of illegal settlements
31 May 2025 at 14:02hrs | Views
The Zimbabwean government has announced plans to undertake a comprehensive assessment of illegal settlements across the country, with the goal of regularising some areas in alignment with national housing strategies and international urban development goals.
This announcement was made during the resumed second session of the United Nations Habitat Assembly currently taking place in Nairobi, Kenya. The session has placed a strong focus on the rapid growth of informal settlements worldwide.
Zimbabwe's delegation is being led by the National Housing and Social Amenities Minister, Honourable Zhemu Soda, who highlighted the government's approach to addressing urban housing challenges.
In her opening remarks, UN-Habitat Executive Director Ms. Anaclaudia Rossbach emphasized the urgency of tackling the global housing crisis, noting that "2.8 billion people globally are inadequately housed, with over 1.1 billion living in informal settlements or slums, and more than 300 million experiencing homelessness."
Honourable Soda presented Zimbabwe's urban housing strategy at the UN high-level dialogue, underscoring the "densification model" as the key to sustainable urban development. She noted that while Zimbabwe has a number of illegal settlements, the government is adopting a holistic approach to assess these areas for possible regularisation.
"One of our strategies is, while we have some illegal settlements in Zimbabwe, we are taking a holistic approach to assessing them for regularisation, but over and above, we are implementing the densification model which we view as our urban development winning formula," she said.
The session will also consider the adoption of the UN-Habitat Strategic Plan for 2026–2029, which prioritizes sustainable urban development to improve housing, land management, and basic services globally.
Zimbabwe's participation underscores its commitment to aligning national policies with international frameworks to tackle urbanisation challenges and improve the living conditions of its urban population.
This announcement was made during the resumed second session of the United Nations Habitat Assembly currently taking place in Nairobi, Kenya. The session has placed a strong focus on the rapid growth of informal settlements worldwide.
Zimbabwe's delegation is being led by the National Housing and Social Amenities Minister, Honourable Zhemu Soda, who highlighted the government's approach to addressing urban housing challenges.
In her opening remarks, UN-Habitat Executive Director Ms. Anaclaudia Rossbach emphasized the urgency of tackling the global housing crisis, noting that "2.8 billion people globally are inadequately housed, with over 1.1 billion living in informal settlements or slums, and more than 300 million experiencing homelessness."
Honourable Soda presented Zimbabwe's urban housing strategy at the UN high-level dialogue, underscoring the "densification model" as the key to sustainable urban development. She noted that while Zimbabwe has a number of illegal settlements, the government is adopting a holistic approach to assess these areas for possible regularisation.
"One of our strategies is, while we have some illegal settlements in Zimbabwe, we are taking a holistic approach to assessing them for regularisation, but over and above, we are implementing the densification model which we view as our urban development winning formula," she said.
The session will also consider the adoption of the UN-Habitat Strategic Plan for 2026–2029, which prioritizes sustainable urban development to improve housing, land management, and basic services globally.
Zimbabwe's participation underscores its commitment to aligning national policies with international frameworks to tackle urbanisation challenges and improve the living conditions of its urban population.
Source - ZBC
