Chitungwiza Acting Mayor Says He's Being Sabotaged

Chitungwiza acting mayor, Kelvin Mutimbanyoka says council employees, including management, were sabotaging an ongoing operation against illegal structures.

He speaks amid a demolition blitz on illegal structures that started on July 14 in which over 20 structures have so far been demolished. NewsDay Zimbabwe quotes him as saying:

I have realised that a lot of council employees and management are involved in the illegal parcelling out of land and they are now throwing out spanners in my way.

They are now working against me by constantly stalling the programme. Some of them are working in cahoots with land barons. We are doing an internal investigation. We want to bring sanity to this town. The days of lawlessness are over.

This is not the first time Chitungwiza Municipality has demolished illegal structures in the dormitory town, having done so over the years, but the structures keep reappearing, while some owners have resisted the demolitions through the courts.

Last December, the municipality was forced to stop the planned demolition of some properties after the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) protested against the local authority’s actions.

Meanwhile, Marondera town councillors were yesterday divided over plans to demolish illegal shops and buildings in the town’s central business district (CBD).

Marondera town is witnessing an emergency of illegal structures in open spaces.

Pindula News