Epworth Targets Wetland Settlements, Land Barons

EPWORTH — The Epworth Local Board has intensified efforts to stop further development on wetlands and unplanned areas, with about 16,000 households currently estimated to be living in such settlements.

Local Board Town Secretary Milton Mhanda said the local authority was working to prevent new informal settlements while preparing to relocate families already living on wetlands and other areas that were not properly planned.

“Currently what we’re doing is to discourage any further development on wetlands or on unplanned areas,” Mhanda said.

He said the local authority had started enumerating households living in the affected areas as it prepares for their possible relocation to properly planned and serviced locations.

“So what we’ve done is to enumerate those people who have been settling on those wetlands for quite some time,” he said.

Mhanda said the relocation programme was dependent on the approval of the local authority’s MASA plan, which would identify suitable areas where affected families could be accommodated.

“What we’re looking forward to is the approval of our MASA plan so that we can create space for them where we are going to relocate them from wetlands or any other unplanned areas,” he said.

He said the new settlements would be located in approved areas where residents could access proper infrastructure and services.

“So that they can settle on new areas where it’s approved and where there could be some services which are actually acceptable,” Mhanda said.

The scale of the challenge remains significant, with the local authority estimating that approximately 16,000 households are currently located on wetlands or in unplanned areas.

“We have about plus or minus 16,000 households on wetlands or unplanned areas,” Mhanda said.

The local authority is also stepping up efforts to protect residents from unscrupulous land dealers, commonly referred to as land barons.

Mhanda said the council was engaging communities and warning residents against dealing with individuals who illegally sell or allocate residential stands.

“On issues relating to what we may call land barons, what we have done is to engage the community and not to listen to those people,” he said.

Mhanda urged residents not to be lured into buying land from individuals without verifying whether they have the legal authority to sell or allocate the property.

“And not to be lured by land barons so that they don’t lose money which they may never recover,” he said.

He stressed that residents seeking residential land should deal directly with the local authority rather than relying on individuals claiming to control land.

“So we have actually advised them that the only authority which can actually assist them on housing is the local authority, which is Epworth Local Board,” Mhanda said.

The local authority’s approach comes as government and councils across Zimbabwe intensify efforts to address illegal settlements, protect wetlands and promote properly planned communities.

For Epworth, the approval of the MASA plan is expected to be an important step towards providing alternative accommodation for families currently living in environmentally sensitive and unplanned areas, while reducing the growth of new informal settlements.