* DOCUMENT : 7

ZIMBABWE

Zimbabwe's primary city, Harare, has a population put conservatively at 1.4 million. Not so conservative estimates put the population at about 1.8 million. The population is growing at a rate of 6.8%. At least 10% of this population is homeless.

Housing provision is through formal institutional responses that marginalise the poor. In order to be allocated a stand, on which to build on one has to go on a housing waiting list. In order to go on this list one has to be formally employed or prove informal employment through a bank statement that should show savings of no less than Z$15 000 (US$1000). It will take poor people a lifetime to save that much money .The poor therefore do not bother to register on the waiting list as they do not have a hope in heaven of ever being considered for housing. The few that have braved the system have been slowly marginalised as the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme imposed by the IMF took its toll.

Housing finance for the "poor" is chiefly through the Private Sector Building Society where one has to earn at least $1200/month to qualify for a loan. Until last week the minimum wage for those in waged employment was $420/ month (the new minimum wage has been set at $500/month). A majority of Harare's urban poor survive on as little as half that amount.

Squatting is illegal in Zimbabwe. The only form of housing the poor can get without risking eviction and prosecution is to 'lodge' in someone's backyard. Average rents are no less than $100/month for a 7 square metre cabin. Since 1990, each time a squatter settlement has sprung up Local Government and the Municipality of Harare have been there to see to it that people are evicted, their houses raised to the ground and possessions destroyed. People are then moved into Holding Camps where they are promised a permanent solution.

Dzivarasekwa Holding Camp is commonly referred to as the Extension (although the municipality has no plans of extending Dzivarasekwa in the direction in which the Camp is located). The Holding Camp is 15 kilometres from the main city centre, tucked in a swamp so that few people even know of its whereabouts.

There are 594 'legal' resident families and an estimated 200 more 'illegal lodgers resident in Dzivarasekwa Extension. Residents of Dzivarasekwa Extension were moved first from Epworth a peri-urban settlement, Many of the people who were resettled had been duped by unscrupulous officials and residents in Epworth who sold them land illegally. They were accused of squatting and were forced to move. None was compensated for the money that had been paid to "buy" the land or for the shelters that were demolished. Everyone was dumped initially at Porta Farm where they were subsequently vetted into three categories:

* Those with farming potential -later relocated to a "farm" in Rusape with nothing but the clothes on their backs and a few meagre belongings (most have since returned to Harare).
* Those who were vagrants who were passed over to the Social Welfare Department (most are back in the streets).
* Those who could prove they had some form of employment and could afford to stay in Harare

The latter were relocated to Dzivarasekwa where they were told they would be for the next three months while a permanent solution was sought to their problem. It has now been seven years since people were moved to Dzivarasekwa.

It has not been easy for people in Dzivarasekwa to realise that no one was going to come up with a solution to their problem.

It took the 1996/97 rainy season to bring people to their senses. Housing consists of two roomed wooden plank shacks that look like they can fall over any minute. Most people have to prop them inside to avoid them falling over while they sleep. In the rainy season houses flood, the pit latrines overflow and clean water is constantly cut. The nearest clinic is over 5 kilometres away and there is no telephone or electricity within the settlements. Most school children have to walk the five kilometres to Dzivarasekwa every day. There is a small makeshift school at the camp but this only takes a few children. Residents have to pay Z$100 for these shacks. The deputy Minister of Local Government came and promised to do something, He has not been back since January and the residents now face another rainy season.

In May this year two people from the settlement got an opportunity to visit the Homeless People's Federation of South Africa and came back rejuvenated - they had embraced the spirit of uMfelandawonye. Suddenly it dawned on them that no one was going to do anything about their situation and that they had to do it themselves. They mobilised people within their community with further assistance from Peoples' Dialogue of South Africa and the Homeless People's Federation as well as two local supporters.

They have started a Savings Scheme they call Kutambura, loosely translated to mean strife/problems. The savings scheme has 434 members and in the two months they have been saving they have accumulated savings of over $6000. They have just completed an office and they are quite excited about what they as a community can accomplish.

As with Dzivarasekwa Extension residents in Hatcliffe Extension were evicted from a farm in the periphery of Harare. People had settled on a farm owned by an opposition party leader (opposition to the ruling ZANU PF). The decision to evict them from the farm was purely political, motivated to stamp out possible opposition. Houses were burnt to the ground and a lot of families lost their belongings. Over 800 families were moved to Hatcliffe. Over the past year two years more people have been relocated to Hatcliffe extension. Currently over 1300 families live in Hatcliffe extension - a total population of about 9000 people. All these people share five toilet blocks, one borehole and a makeshift clinic. Frequent fights, some nearly fatal erupt as people impatiently wait their turn to get safe drinking water. Children have to walk the 10 kilometre journey to schools in the Hatcliffe suburbs. Transport on the minibus cost $4 to get into the citycentre. Most people work in the Southern Industrial areas and therefore have to catch two minibuses This makes their average transport cost Z$16 a day.

Like the people in Dzivarasekwa, two women from Hatcliffe Extension visited the South African Homeless People's Federation and People's Dialogue. They were afforded the opportunity to see how people as poor as themselves were making a difference to their lives through determination and unity. They describe the experience they had in South Africa as short of a religious revival. After their trip they had a series of meetings to educate people within their community about starting saving schemes. People within the settlements embraced these ideas and seven savings schemes started in two months. These groups are:

* Zvishamiso (Miracles) - 95 members
* Ruzivo (Knowledge) - 240 members
* Zvikomborero (Blessings) - 49 members
* Betsirai (Help Each Other) - 40 members
* Zvido Zvedu ( Our Hearts Desires) - 35 members
* Vimbikai (Be Trustworthy) - 44 members
* Tazvida (We Like It) - 30 members

Collectively these 7 groups have savings of over Z$12000. New members keep coming to join the groups and with such positive names the groups are geared for greater thing with the ultimate objective of affording each one of them a house to call their own.

In terms of the next steps forward the savings schemes that have started would also like to see a process where homeless people in Zimbabwe come together to share ideas and experiences. There is also the task of convincing MP and Ministers that indeed homeless people have the power to change their lives. The MP in Dzivarasekwa has been quite receptive to this new initiative and it is hoped that more advocacy work can be done to ensure a situation where politicians work with the people.