CHITUNGWIZA municipality’s acting town clerk, Tonderai Kasu, has condemned the ongoing illegal parcelling out of council land to homeless people by land barons, warning perpetrators to immediately stop the practice.
In a Press statement issued on Thursday, Kasu said his council would prosecute anyone found on the wrong side of the law.
“Let it also be known to everyone who fails or refuses to heed this warning that defiance shall be met with definite and decisive action by the council. Such action shall include criminal prosecution,” read the Press statement.
Kasu said the municipality was concerned about the continuous abuse of its land by unauthorised persons who he said distributed land illegally, adding that Chitungwiza Town Council was the sole administrator of all land within its jurisdiction.
“Council is more concerned than ever that there are some nefarious individuals who have continued to identify open spaces for allocation to themselves, despite it being the stated and explicit policy of council that doing so was not permissable,” Kasu said.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Chitungwiza municipality is the sole planning authority that issues stands in Chitungwiza. The council is very much aware of its land bank, and the council is also very much aware of the illegal and irregular activities that are being perpetrated by various malefactors,” he continued.
The statement follows the continuous sprouting of illegal settlements on unused land without the council’s approval.
Besides turning land into residential stands, some people have taken over open spaces reserved for recreational activities to build tuckshops, flea markets and home industries.
