The ManicaPost
Abel Zhakata Senior Reporter—
MUTARE has recorded a typhoid case after a 16-year-old boy tested positive to the infectious disease as council battles to demolish sprouting illegal settlements that have created health hazards.
City Mayor Councillor Tatenda Nhamarare, yesterday confirmed the case but said the situation was under control.
“We had one case of typhoid in the city which has since been contained. A teenager, Tawanda Mvududu, who was originally admitted at Mutare Provincial Hospital where he had other health complications, was later transferred to council’s Mutare Infectious Disease Hospital.
“Our medical staff ran some tests on him and he tested positive to typhoid. He was treated and discharged on January 11. From their investigations, it came out that the boy came from Gombakomba in Zimunya visiting relatives in the city. Our health department is on high alert,” he said and added:
“This is one of the reasons why we are going to demolish illegal squatter settlements. We can sit by and watch people settle themselves wherever they wish. We are risking the lives of residents because water borne diseases like typhoid and cholera break out easily in such settlements because of poor sanitation.”
Lawyers representing more than 400 families who illegally settled on an open space in Chikanga high-density suburb have since instructed the local authority to stop the planned demolition of the squatters saying the process was both illegal and unconstitutional.
However, Cllr Tatenda Nhamarare said there was no going back. He said the local authority had already planned for the demolitions which will be done anytime soon.
“We will proceed to forcefully evict those illegal settlers. What you must know is that those are squatters who came and settled themselves there and there is no justification to their actions. We cannot risk the lives of other citizens because of the actions of a few people who think that they can do whatever they want and allocate themselves stands. Other cities are battling outbreaks of cholera and typhoid and we put ourselves in danger if we leave such illegal settlements to continue,” he said.
In the letter Mr Nyakureba said council planned actions were illegal.
“Certainly your purported enforcement and prohibition orders are not an order of court and to that end are of no force and effect. We have no doubt that your legal department has given you correct legal advice on this matter and you will respect that advice. In the event that you insist with this kind of impunity and disregard of the law you have exhibited in handling this matter , we shall be left with no option but to seek the intervention of the courts of law to stop you from carrying out the purported demolitions of the properties of our clients.
“In the event that we approach the court to seek to enforce our clients’ rights, we shall be joining you in your individual capacity because of these prior warnings and seek punitive costs against you. We will also join the Minister of Local Government to the process. For your own information, we hereby copy the police provincial commander this letter so that should you go ahead with destroying our clients’ property, you and your officers should be arrested for malicious damage to property,” reads the letter.
The illegal settlers said they found themselves in this housing predicament because of the actions of corrupt housing officials at the Civic Centre who double allocated their stands in Federation Housing Scheme in Mutare leaving them homeless.
Mutare City Council, through its acting director of engineering and technical services, Mr Alfred Maenzanise, published enforcement and prohibition orders to the illegal occupiers. The orders are in terms of the Regional, Town and Country Planning Act (Chapter 29:12)
The municipality said the families were illegally occupying stands 4483, 4484 and 6808 Chikanga and a portion of the Railway Servitude.
“This order will come into operation on December 31, 2016…therefore take note, you as the occupiers and users of illegal structures on the said stands, that in terms of Section 34 you are ordered to discontinue forthwith the illegal occupation of the said stands; cease using the illegal structures thereon for human habitation purposes and any other illegal purpose; demolish all illegal structures erected without permission on the said stands or properties and remove the debris, bricks, timber, any material and rubbish arising from the demolition of these illegal structures.”
