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* REPORT : 85
Zimbabwe Report
On Monday, October 2nd, to mark World Habitat Day the Minister of Local Government, Urban Development and National Housing Dr. Ignatius Chombo opened houses built by the Zimbabwe Homeless People’s Federation in Hatcliffe Extension. You might remember that last year on the 25th of May the government and the City of Harare raised this settlement of about 3000 families to the ground as part of Operation Murambatsvina. The past year has been very difficult for the Zimbabwe Homeless People’s Federation. The cost of living for the urban poor has reached unprecedented levels. With the highest inflation rate in the world currently standing at 1200% and estimated to reach 4000% by the end of next year it is difficult to even imagine how the poor in Zimbabwe survive. Murambatsvina not only destroyed homes and business of the poor but also the fragile and edgy trust that the federation had been trying for over eight years to build with local authorities and central government.At the height of the evictions it was difficult to see how you could even begin to work with a government that says one thing and does another. However the wisdom of the urban poor who constitute the 45 000 families that make up the Zimbabwe Homeless People’s Federation prevailed. In their opinion pragmatism would win the day. In defending Operation Murambatsvina government has always maintained that it would provide land for every landless Zimbabwean and that Murambatsvina was meant to bring order and sanity to the urban areas. The Zimbabwe Homeless People’s Federation has taken government’s bluff and said even the poor hate living in disorderly neighborhoods that are unsanitary with insecurity and often highly exploited by unscrupulous landlords. There are therefore willing to partner with government in its programs to ensure that the urban poor are recognized and participate in their own development. In these negotiations there was no recrimination over Murambatsvina but rather negotiations on practical real small but progressive wins. The following have been the outcomes of this pragmatism
- Agreement by the Ministry to enter into a MOU with the Zimbabwe Homeless People’s Federation and Shack Dwellers International that will see the allocation of an initial 5000 plots across the country to the federation. The MOU commits government to work together with the Federation to find pro-poor solutions to the housing challenge in Zimbabwe and using this process to influence policies that hinder the development of housing by the urban poor. This includes an implicit agreement to include Incremental development as a policy strategy for providing housing
- A commitment by the Federation and SDI to work with the Zimbabwe government to show case the resulting programs from this arrangement at the WUF in Najing China in 2008
- Building of better understanding of how the federation and its partner Dialogue on Shelter work. This has resulted in the Minister visiting four of the Federation’s lead projects in Harare, Kariba, Mutare and Victoria Falls
- A commitment to security of tenure by the government for all people affected by Operation Murambatsvina and subsequently allocated land under Operation Garikai. The Minister in his World Habitat Day speech reiterated this position. On its part the federation is busy with surveys to ensure that all those that were allocated land or re-allocated land under Government’s Garikai program have their lease agreements in place and are making preparation to start housing constructions.
We remain challenged by the economic environment on one hand which has meant that the little resources that the federation has can only go so far. Coupled with this the International community will not give resources to housing construction because of their governments’ current position developmental aid to Zimbabwe because of its human rights record. This is a paradox in some sense because now is the time Zimbabwean people need developmental aid the most. Humanitarian Aid while useful can only go so far and there is a real risk that uncoordinated and improperly targeted humanitarian aid creates dependency in a people who have always prided themselves in being self-sufficient.
Our fragile partnership with government also needs to be managed carefully. We often have to tread the fine line between being partners and co-option. The federation and Dialogue are developing new skills in managing this. It is not easy but it is possible.Ours is a strategy of principled compromise and not compromised principles.
Kind regards
Beth