Parliament of Zimbabwe said it will engage the Portfolio Committee on National Housing and Social Amenities following Matapi Flats inferno victims’ petition to Parliament over the provision of decent accommodation.
This comes at a time when the victims of the inferno have been living in a disused beer hall (Zororo Bar) for five years, since their flat was destroyed by fire in 2017.
In 2017 Matapi Flats Block 5 Southern was razed down by fire leaving the tenants of fourteen (14) families homeless and exposed to serious health risks, as the place (disused beer hall) they live in has only one public toilet which they share with vendors and experiences perennial sewer bursts which expose the tenants to waterborne diseases.
While Section 51 of the Constitution provides for the right to human dignity and privacy, the victims have been living in degrading conditions without access to adequate shelter and exposed to different forms of abuses for a very long time.
Section 28 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe calls for the state and agencies of government to take legislative and other measures to enable every person to have access to adequate shelter and CHRA is calling for urgent humanitarian intervention on the victims of the inferno.
