Envoy defends Zimbabwe demolitions
 
2005-08-15 08:02:14
By Emmanuel Kihaule

	Chipo Zindoga

Zimbabwe Ambassador to Tanzania Chipo Zindoga, has defended her government over the massive demolitions in her country.
The demolitions were a necessary step in getting rid of illegally built slums, she said.

’’The operations were aimed at cleaning the cities and towns because the slums posed threats to order and security,’’ she said.

Ambassador Zindoga added that most of the unplanned houses in the slums were illegally connected to electricity and water supplies and thus disrupted the good flow and provision of the services to subscribed clients.

’’It was just and necessary to take such actions so as to make the cities and towns ideal and habitable,’’ she said.

Zindoga made the remarks last week during a meeting between the Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), Prof Anna Tibaijuka, the Tanzania central and local government officials and leaders of civil societies in Dar es Salaam.

The meeting was aimed at highlighting the threats posed by urbanisation crisis in Africa with much emphasis on Tanzania as far as the need to prevent the mushrooming of unplanned human settlements was concerned.

Prof Tibaijuka, who was also the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy on Human Settlement Issues in Zimbabwe, urged the Tanzania officials to take necessary measures in time before getting into a ’crisis’ like the one in the southern African country.

Prof Tibaijuka has so far written a report which is based on observations that she made during her stay in Zimbabwe following a call by the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan.

According to Prof Tibaijuka, UN-HABITAT agrees with the government of Zimbabwe on the need to improve accommodation standards so as to have ideal and clean environment.

However, she said the demolitions in various Zimbabwean cities and towns were arbitrary, leaving over half a million people homeless, which, according to her, was contrary to the International law.

’’If the unplanned settlements were left to develop for years, then it is improper to demolish them overnight and this is against humanity besides being contrary to International Law,’’ she explained.

On July 18, this year, Annan voiced concerns of the UN over the situation in Zimbabwe calling it a humanitarian crisis that needed an immediate solution.

Prof Tibaijuka raised her concerns over the matter too and said that they were intending to appeal for international support in relieving the sufferings of the displaced people.

However, Ambassador Zindoga said the government of Zimbabwe would not accept any support because everything was within its reach.

’’This is not much of an internal matter and the government has proper plans in dealing with the matter,’’ she said.

• SOURCE: Guardian