Rural and Urban development watchdog, Integrated Planners Network (IPN) has urged government to do away with the urban renewal plan which they said will not yield economic returns as most cities were established on the basis of war and colonialism.
This follows a directive from the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing early this week, for councils to come up with urban renewal projects in seven days time.
Addressing journalists today, IPN coordinator Tungamirai Fambirai said Zimbabwe’s urban settlements were established to suit administrative and political structure of the colonial regime, hence not renewable as per the government’s desire.
“In colonial Zimbabwe, urban settlements were developed as part of the process of establishing an administrative and political structure for colonial rule. They were not founded on any economical rationale but on the bases of camps and military settlements, hence Fort Tuli, Fort Victoria and many others.
“Therefore, to expect something founded on the bases of war and colonialism to give us economic returns in such a short period is unrealistic,” said Fambirai.
He added that instead of exhausting funds on renewing cities founded on military background, government should build new cities that will serve different purposes.
“Why can’s government use 10 billion dollars for urban renewal of Harare and use the remainder to build a new city with an alternative purpose like industrial city as in Dortmund,” he said.
