Godfrey Mtimba
Masvingo—Some residents in the sprawling, haphazardly developed residential suburbs of Victoria Range are facing a severe crisis after heavy rains triggered flooding in wetland areas where housing stands were sold by alleged land barons.
Residents purchased stands in unserviced wetland areas with no proper road network or storm drainage systems.
As heavy rains have continued to pound Masvingo province in recent weeks, the situation has worsened, exposing residents to flooding, property damage and serious health risks.
Several houses have been inundated, destroying household property, while roads have been washed away and turned into pools of water that are no longer passable to motorists or pedestrians.
Cars stuck in Victoria Range
Tonderai Mangunda, a resident of the Jazire area in Victoria Range, said residents were living under unbearable conditions due to persistent flooding.
“We were allocated land in wetlands and told to build our houses. During the rainy season, life becomes unbearable. There are no proper storm drainage systems, so water flows directly into our homes, destroying furniture and even damaging the houses themselves. Some houses are slowly sinking into the ground,” Mangunda said.
Another resident, Memory Phiri from the Takawira area, said the poor state of roads had led to serious transport challenges.
“Local commuter transport operators have abandoned this route because the roads are no longer passable. We are now completely stranded,” Phiri said.
Residents accused Masvingo City Council (MCC), Masvingo Rural District Council (MRDC) and land developers of shifting blame among themselves instead of addressing the crisis.
The three parties reportedly entered into a Memorandum of Agreement several years ago to jointly provide roads, water, sewerage and refuse collection services.
However, residents say the agreement has not translated into tangible service delivery on the ground.
Beyond flooding, residents estimate that more than 20,000 people living in the affected suburbs face a looming public health crisis due to the absence of water and sewer reticulation, as well as refuse collection services.
Most households rely on Blair toilets, many of which are nearly full, forcing some residents to resort to relieving themselves in the surrounding bushes.
Combined with uncollected refuse, residents fear outbreaks of waterborne diseases such as cholera and typhoid, particularly during the rainy season.
“We are facing a serious health hazard. With these rains and the pollution of our environment, diseases like cholera or typhoid could break out at any time,” said one resident who requested anonymity.
Masvingo United Residents and Ratepayers Alliance (MURRA) chairperson, Thomas Mbetu, condemned the alleged illegal parcelling of wetlands and accused both land barons and local authorities of violating residents’ environmental rights.
“I condemn the illegal allocation of wetlands by land barons and the failure of local authorities, including MCC and MRDC, to enforce environmental laws. This has created a humanitarian crisis.
“We demand that the councils urgently provide emergency relief and install temporary drainage systems, followed by a comprehensive audit of all illegal settlements,” Mbetu said.
MURRA said it holds the authorities primarily responsible for allowing the violations and the resulting service delivery vacuum.
“MURRA also calls upon the relevant authorities to take appropriate action against land barons who profited from these illegal activities. Sustainable and lawful relocation plans must be developed for residents in affected areas,” Mbetu added.
Section 73 of Zimbabwe’s constitution guarantees the right to a clean environment and obliges the state to protect the environment for present and future generations through reasonable legislative and other measures.
Masvingo City Council mayor, Aleck Tabe, said the two local authorities had begun engagements aimed at restoring order and improving service delivery in the rapidly expanding suburbs.
“We have commenced engagements to bring sanity and order to Victoria Range. We are committed to working with MRDC, land developers and central government to establish a new framework that will end the disorder and ensure residents receive decent service delivery,” Tabe said.
Masvingo Land Developers Association chairperson, Timothy Mufamba, said developers were willing to cooperate with authorities.
“We are prepared to comply with policies and plans from local authorities and government to restore order and ensure residents receive proper services in line with the laws of the country,” Mufamba said.
Efforts to obtain comment from the Masvingo Rural District Council chief executive officer, Martin Mubviro, were unsuccessful at the time of publishing.