Peter Tanyanyiwa
Harare residents are demanding more land allocation towards the education and health sectors so as to help different wards develop, have easy access to education and medical facilities.
The residents say they want an immediate halt to all land sales and development of open spaces until there are sufficient schools and clinics planned to accommodate existing population.
In an interview, Zimbabwe Combined Residents and Ratepayers Associated (ZICORRA)’s provincial chairperson for Harare Lawrence Kuleya on Wednesday said should allocate more land to schools and health facilities to accommodate the growing population.
“When are you announcing the land designated to education and health in ward 16? The ward has had a population of 5000 in the past and it had three junior schools and two high schools.
“Currently there is now 40000 people and not one new government school. Our population is already densities eight times to the original infrastructure,” he said in an engagement with Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume.
“To maintain the original ratio of schools to population we need 24 more junior schools and 16 high schools. If you intend on winning support of the residents best focus on fixing the infrastructural mess we are in,” said Kuleya.
He went on to urge the Harare City Council (HCC) to fix the roads, deliver water to every house every day and sort out the schools mess.
The residents body said no one wants to hear about high rise flats and smaller yards when there are 80 children in a class.
“How municipal schools have been built in harare since in past 30 years? None in ward 16. Population has increased from 5 000 to 40 000 and not one new school.”
Residents say they are not asking rhetoric questions, they want answers, particularly to the allocation of land to schools and clinics.
“We want land allocated to schools. We want an immediate halt to all land sales and development of open spaces until there are sufficient schools and clinics planned to accommodate existing population.
“We want all land sales for past 15 years probed. Sales where the proper procedures were not followed must be reversed and made way for schools and clinics,” added Kuleya.