By Marshall Bwanya
Local governance expert Dr. Vincent Chakunda has linked the rapid growth of informal settlements to the exacerbation of climate change in urban areas.
Speaking on the sidelines of the SADC People’s Summit, Chakunda attributed the problem to government and local authorities’ failure to accommodate the burgeoning urban population beyond the infrastructure designed during colonial times.
“Harare, for instance, was initially designed for a population of plus or minus 1,6 million, in terms of the established or installed sewer and water systems.
“But there has been a surge in the population of urban areas such that presently Harare is a city of plus or minus 3,2 million, some putting the population in excess of 4 million.
“What it means is the city’s carrying capacity in terms of sewer and other key public infrastructure have since been far exceeded by those people you see in Caledonian farm, Epworth, Hopley and many other new settlements,” said Chakunda.
Most irregular urban settlements mushroomed around the early 2000s, following the government’s ambitious housing policy targeting one million, and two hundred and fifty thousand housing units, in the aftermath of the chaotic Operation Murambatsvina which created a housing crisis.
The proliferation of informal settlements like Caledonia Farm, Epworth, and Hopley has compounded the issue of urban induced climate change.
These areas lack essential services such as hospitals, proper sanitation, and adequate water supply, contributing to environmental degradation and public health risks.
Irregular settlements have presented a peculiar conundrum for government and local authorities were evicting communities could attract a backlash from human rights groups and defenders pushing for social justice, and regularizing the areas appears to be an unsustainable pipe dream.
The Caledonia urban settlement currently has an excess of 23, 000 housing units without a space to build a hospital.
In Cowdray Park, Bulawayo, there is an estimated population of about 9 thousand people using bucket systems as their toilets, posing a threat to the general city ecosystems.
Zvishavane, in 2009, had a population of about 9000 which now has surged to 18 000 housing units without the development of our dams and other offside infrastructure to accommodate these people, resulting in erratic water supplies.
Chakunda emphasized the urgent need to regularize these settlements, arguing that it is the most viable solution to mitigate climate change impacts.
“It’s either we legalize their stay or we evict them, but from a humanitarian and social justice point of view the major strand related to regularising their stay.
“What it means, one, we need to explore a strategy to mobilize revenue, to regularize those settlements.
“In terms of putting proper infrastructure, roads and sewer and water in those areas and ensuring the settlements are developed in line with urban standards,” said Chakunda.
“That is what I think is a common narrative supported by development partners, because evicting people in the current scenarios is not only in violation of human rights but there are a number of local and international laws that would be threatened by such an act, that’s why I call for regularising.
“But what are the requirements, what do we need in order to come to a point of regularising, one, we are talking of ensuring we put standard infrastructure in those areas, be it roads, sewer, water and other amenities.
“This is now a collective effort in terms of thinking and strategizing, development partners and government,” added Chakunda
He called for a collaborative effort between government, local authorities, and development partners to develop effective strategies for regularizing these settlements.
By doing so, Zimbabwe can address the pressing issues of urban poverty, inequality, and environmental sustainability.
