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Zanu
PF local leadership threatens CHRA Mbare office with closure
Combined Harare
Residents Association (CHRA)
February 14, 2006
ZANU PF militia on Thursday
8 February approached the leadership at the St Michael's Anglican
Church at Runyararo House where CHRA satellite office is currently
housed and threatened to destroy property and target individuals
if the office continued operating.
The Church leadership
has thus given CHRA up to Friday 16 February 2007 to wind up operations
and vacate the offices. This comes hardly a month after CHRA members
were abducted for six hours and tortured by ZANU PF thugs at their
Harare provincial office at Fourth Street in the City center, while
distributing fliers inviting residents to a public meeting.
Activities at
the Mbare office have been threatened by this incident. This development
follows a public meeting that was impressively attended by over
1000 residents in Mbare who had made resolutions and action plans
on solving the challenges facing residents. Incidentally the Harare
Provincial Administrator was reported by residents to have been
buying people opaque beer (scuds) at Marengenya bar, which is barely
a kilometre from the CHRA office. A ZANU PF meeting was held on
Saturday 10 February where the CHRA Mbare office activities were
discussed and made a resolution that the office should be closed
following this event. Residents in Mbare made the following resolutions:
- Elections:
Demand the holding of free and fair Mayoral and Council elections
as a matter of urgency.
- Petition:
Petition the Minister of Local Government and Urban Development
Dr Ignatius Morgan Chiminya Chombo on the challenges facing Mbare
residents and make demands. They had set a target of 5000 signatures
to accompany the petition. The petition will be copied to ZINWA,
Government Ministries and the Commission running the City of Harare.
-
Peaceful marches:
Residents in Mbare had threatened that in the event that the Minister
of Local Government and Urban Development does not respond in
two weeks to the issues raised they will take to the streets.
- Clean-up
campaigns: The committees representing Mbare wards 3,4,11and
12 had set the 28th of February as the initial date for the clean-up
process. This would be followed up every week. Partnerships have
already been developed with other Civic Society Organizations
that will provide cleaning materials and vehicles to carry the
refuse.
- Public
meetings: Residents resolved to hold regular meetings
as a platform for sharing ideas on how to solve their problems
and monitor the implementation and progress of their activities.
- Humanitarian
assistance: Residents in Mbare had called upon CHRA to
link up with other Civic Society Organizations and source food
and humanitarian assistance in response to the crisis faced by
residents. CHRA estimates that over 200 000 residents in Mbare
are in urgent need of food assistance as most of them lost means
of sustainable livelihoods due to Operation
Murambatsvina.
CHRA views this
interference as a direct response to the impact of the work of the
Association in Mbare. The Association has recorded 1145 new members
in Mbare since the office was opened in December last year. Most
residents were excited about CHRA activities and had vowed to find
lasting solutions to the crisis they are facing. The Association
would like to assure residents and Civic partners that CHRA will
not be deterred by this interference buy will use it to further
mobilize the marginalized community of Mbare. Activities will continue
as CHRA finds a new office to coordinate its action plans. CHRA
is concerned with the continued harassment and interference from
ZANU PF into Civic Society issues. The Association would like to
reinforce that it is a non-partisan and does not deal with party
political issues. The regime is timid and is now afraid of its own
people. It will use violence and any tactics to suppress residents'
voices demanding change. CHRA is committed to defending residents
and advocating for effective, accountable and transparent local
governance.
Visit
the CHRA fact
sheet
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