HARARE – A report from the Portfolio Committee on Local Government and Public Works has drawn urgent attention to the precarious living conditions in Zimbabwe’s informal and peri-urban settlements, with lawmakers underscoring the severe lack of essential services and the struggle for residents to obtain secure land tenure.
The parliamentary debate, stemming from a petition by the Coalition of Markets and Liberal Solutions (COMALISO), highlighted that vast numbers of the urban poor who reside in areas deemed “unsafe, undignified, and unfit for human habitation” due to the complete absence of basic infrastructure.
The Committee’s report confirms that many settlements, particularly around the capital, Harare, are entirely disconnected from municipal infrastructure.
Concerns raised by Mount Darwin West MP Witness Jonga on Thursday last week, cited several critical deficiencies, including that the settlements are without water and sewer systems, roads, schools, and clinics, posing significant health and safety risks to residents.
The report further highlighted a high demand for housing, coupled with the inability of local authorities to provide adequate, serviced land, is the primary driver behind the proliferation of these unserviced settlements.
The argument put forth in the debate is that these settlements, which have mushroomed due to rapid urbanization and housing shortages, require massive infrastructure development before they can be formally regularised.
The debate also cited the government’s failure to fully fund its own solutions.
Jonga pointed to the delayed operationalisation of the National Housing Fund (NHF), which was established under the National Human Settlements Policy (NHSP) specifically to finance bulk infrastructure like water reticulation, sewer systems, and roads.
“Without this fund being fully activated, we are trying to regularise and service settlements without the financial backbone to do so. It is like trying to build a house without laying the foundation,” Jonga stated.
“Madam Speaker, if we are serious about addressing the mushrooming of informal settlements, Treasury must prioritise and ensure the full operationalisation of this National Housing Fund.”
The Committee’s observation that the Ministry of National Housing and Social Amenities only utilized 15.2% of its budget in 2024 due to late fund disbursement was cited as an “unacceptable” operational bottleneck that directly impedes the country’s ability to address the housing backlog.
Lawmakers stressed the importance of maintaining the principle that title deeds be issued only for fully serviced and habitable stands.
“If we rush to issue title deeds in areas without sewer water, no water, no schools and no roads, we risk creating what I may call second-class title deeds,” Jonga argued.
He emphasised that a title deed must be a mark of dignity, security, and real value, not just an empty piece of paper.
Other members, including Arthur Mujeyi of Cowdray Park, highlighted specific areas in Bulawayo, such as Iminyela Flats and Makokoba, where multiple generations of families have lived without title deeds, preventing them from using the property as a financial asset or leaving it as a legal inheritance.
“Madam Speaker, there have been about three to four generations and so many people have been born in those places but they do not have any title deeds. They do not own those places.
“Our request was that these people be offered title deeds so that they have a surety and they leave an asset for their children,” Mujeyi noted.
Despite the infrastructural and financial setbacks, the debate acknowledged government efforts aimed at rectifying the land tenure crisis.
The debate commended the ongoing program under the Kwangu/Ngakwami Trust, which is active in areas like Epworth, Chitungwiza, and Cowdray Park. This initiative aims to fast-track the issuance of title deeds and regularise informal settlements.
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