By Kundai Marunya

OVER 20 families are squatting at the ZANU PF offices at Goromonzi Turnoff where they are bracing the freezing cold weather in tents and makeshift structures, hoping the party leadership will find them alternative accommodation.

Since the recent demolition of thousands of homes at a nearby settlement, Cloverdale,  a court battle has been raging between the invaders and directors of Glorious Investments, which owns the land. Those who could not find alternative accommodation have remained either on the roadside or have taken shelter at the ruling party’s offices.

However, it has since emerged that these people invaded the piece of land in spite of repeated warnings from Minister of Local Government Daniel Garwe,

The recent demolitions in Cloverdale, carried out in the biting cold of winter, have once again exposed the devastating human and financial cost of Zimbabwe’s unresolved housing crisis.

After putting up a fight in the courts, then taking it to the streets through blockages and subsequent violent attacks on the police and sheriff’s department officials who had been despatched to execute an eviction and demolition order, defeated on both fronts, families watched helplessly as bulldozers flattened their homes.

“Most of the people had built structures of between two to four rooms,” said former Cloverdale resident Zorodawu Liver.

“The cost of construction and other developments was estimated at least at US$1 000 per housing unit.”

An estimated 4 500 families had their houses demolished, bringing the total cost  to at least US$4,5 million.

Zimbabweans have been losing large sums of money invested in housing infrastructure through demolitions since 2005 when Government ordered the infamous Operation Murambatsvina.

Now, 20 years later, history is repeating itself.

Last week, Cabinet approved a new Urban State Land Management Policy, promising to tackle illegal settlements, land barons and chaotic urban expansion.

But the question remains: Will this policy finally break the cycle of demolitions?

In 2005, Government launched Operation Murambatsvina, an urban clean-up campaign that demolished home expansions and informal businesses structures that had not approved by urban councils across the country.

The UN estimated that 700 000 people were left homeless.

The Government’s response was Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle, which was supposed to provide alternative housing.

Fast forward to 2025, and the demolitions continue. Cloverdale was a first of a series of demolitions planned this year, with Donnybrook and Epworth being next in line.

In Epworth, 15 000 houses face demolition which will result in millions of dollars’ worth of development being razed to the ground.

Over the years, millions more have been lost to demolitions with Arlington Estate, where property developments worth millions were razed to the ground.

These were upmarket houses that had taken time and a lot of resources to construct.

In Ridgeview, Belvedere, last year, armed police and bulldozers rolled in with court orders, reducing posh  houses to rubble.

Many of these homes belonged to middle-income families which had invested their life savings, only to lose everything.

Videos circulating online show some beautiful houses with manicured lawns and solar systems being razed to the ground, without even some decency to at least remove materials that can be used elsewhere.

These well-built houses being razed to the ground are not built overnight; it is a process unfolding right before our eyes. Council and Government officials pass through these areas on a daily basis and witness these settlements sprouting.

This begs the question: Where is their oversight role?

The desperate home-seekers should also conduct due diligence and meticulously verify the legality of that land before celebrating a disaster.

The inhumane way in which these demolitions are carried out is retrogressive and counters the Government’s development agenda.

The heart of the crisis lies in dysfunctional urban planning and rampant corruption.

With city councils failing to provide affordable housing, private developers and cooperatives have moved in to fill the gap — often fraudulently.

Land barons, some allegedly linked to political elites, have exploited desperate home seekers, selling them land on disputed properties.

When the legitimate landowners — including the City of Harare — reclaim their land through court orders, the result is mass evictions.

The recent demolitions in Belvedere, for instance, were carried out on land owned by the municipality. Instead of negotiating compensation or regularisation, authorities chose destruction, leaving families homeless.

Amid the growing outcry, Government has approved the Urban State Land Management Policy, which aims to bring sanity to urban planning.

Speaking during a post-Cabinet press briefing, Information Minister Dr Jenfan Muswere said: “The Urban State Land Management Policy is a significant step towards addressing Zimbabwe’s urban land management challenges. It aims to engender better value for land resources, enhance accountability, improve efficiency and usher in a professionalised land management system aligned with Vision 2030.”

The policy is structured around six key pillars: governance and decentralisation, innovation and technology, procedures and processes, regulatory framework and enforcement, infrastructure development, and planning and compliance.

Minister Muswere emphasised that the policy will protect citizens from fraudulent land deals while promoting orderly urban development.

“It addresses rapid urbanisation issues, such as dysfunctional settlements, speculative activities, and land baronism, while protecting citizens from fraudulent land deals. It clarifies stakeholder roles, provides operational guidelines, and promotes efficient and effective urban State land management,” he said.

While the policy is a step in the right direction, the litmus test will be in its implementation.

Past initiatives, like Operation Garikai, failed due to corruption and poor planning.

The new policy must ensure transparent land allocation, compensation or regularisation instead of demolitions, public-private partnerships to fund proper urban infrastructure, and genuine community engagement.

Demolitions should be the last resort. In cases like Belvedere, authorities could have negotiated compensation or gone the regularisation route instead of leaving families homeless.

With Harare’s population booming, many who grew up in the high-density suburbs now struggle to find affordable urban housing.

Some have turned to peri-urban areas like Goromonzi, Seke and Domboshava, where village heads (sabhukus) were alleged to be selling land to urbanites.

These ‘sabhuku deals’ have led to a rural housing boom, with mansions, solar power and boreholes transforming villages.

However, a Government policy banning village heads from selling land has left many new home owners in legal limbo.

Those who have already built after acquiring their land through ‘sabhuku deals’ live in constant fear that one day their properties will be demolished as happened last year in Gutu.

As Zimbabwe moves forward with its new urban land policy, there must be a humane approach to existing settlements.

Instead of bulldozing down homes, the Government should consider genuine dialogue and possibly regularisation before demolition.

The demolitions in Cloverdale, Belvedere and the looming threat in Epworth show that Zimbabweans has not learned anything from Murambatsvina.

Millions of dollars in property investments are being lost while thousands of people are left homeless — all while land barons and corrupt officials go scot-free.

The new policy offers hope, but only if it is implemented fairly and transparently.

Otherwise, Zimbabwe will remain trapped in this cycle of destruction, where the poor and middle-class pay the price for failed governance.

Twenty years after Murambatsvina, Zimbabwe continues to repeat the same mistakes.

The new Urban State Land Management Policy must not be another paper solution. The Government must put people first — because no policy can be described as successful if it leaves citizens homeless.