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Public interest cases affecting residents
Harare Residents' Trust (HRT)
November 30, 2011

The HRT continues to receive reported cases of human rights violations mainly attributed to poor performance by service providers in Harare. Through residents' case work, the HRT has become the organisation of last resort for the residents of Harare who have lost confidence in the remedial systems in the City of Harare as they have proven to be ineffective in dealing with their reported concerns. In this issue HRT narrates five stories on different forms of violations that have received attention from service providers through the intervention of the HRT. The HRT continues to encourage residents of Harare to report any violation so that appropriate corrective action can be taken. This is in line with the key objectives of the institution namely: To empower citizens to demand accountability from council leadership and service providers and 'To facilitate engagement among council officials, service providers and the citizenry to improve standards of living in Harare Metropolitan Province.' Residents are urged to report these issues as a way of building a critical mass in defence their rights. The vision of the HRT is to see "A free and Prosperous Citizenry" that is to see citizens free from any form of oppression or any form of problems particularly in interacting with service providers so that they can develop as individuals and as communities.

Case One: A report was received concerning a conflict between a landlord and a troublesome lodger from a 31 year old woman from Highfield residing in Western Triangle. After negotiation for the tenant to pay outstanding rentals for three months, the client was given advice from the Northern Region Rent Board to give the lodger a three month written notice to vacate her premises. Key reasons for the conflict were that the tenant had failed to pay rentals for the house for the duration of the three months and because of his misbehaviour at the house. The tenant has resisted the judgment delivered at the Rotten Row Magistrates Court ordering him to vacate the premises. He failed to turn up for the court session leading to the announcement of a default judgement in his absence. The tenant attempted to resist the final order to vacate the premises but was then finally ordered out of the house by Highfield police officers after a letter requesting for intervention was written to the police by the HRT. Peace was eventually restored to the landlord who had faced serious challenges from the troublesome tenant. Disputes between landlords and tenants especially over rentals are common today. The HRT is receiving at least four cases daily from aggrieved lodgers and house owners. Tenants and landlords are encouraged to enter into a lease agreement which has clear terms and conditions which the parties should abide by. Landlords are also urged to negotiate justified increases in rates and rentals with their tenants and not to simply impose increases on the tenants. The Rent Board, located at Makombe Building is there to address any problems that arise between lodgers and landlords. The HRT encourages landlords and tenants to respect each other and avoid conflict which is disruptive.

Case Two: A 49 year old tobacco farmer made a report to the HRT that his electricity supplies were cut off due to an unpaid outstanding bill of US$482.47. In response he made a payment of $280.00 plus an additional $10.00 as reconnection fee on 30 June 2011. Upon payment he was promised that power supplies would be reconnected as soon as there is a site visit. A ZESA electrician then made a visit to the client's house on 1 July 2011 with the intention of reconnecting supplies as guaranteed. However, upon checking, he observed that the 60 MCB socket breaker had been detached from the meter box. The resident was shocked at this apparent theft of ZESA property. The ZESA employee promised to go and check with their offices about the removed or stolen MCB and assured them that electricity supplies would be immediately restored. Unfortunately electricity supplies were not restored and the ZESA employee never returned, raising suspicions of criminal activity. The resident was of the strong conviction that the ZESA employee who initially disconnected supplies was the one responsible for removing/ stealing the MCBs. He had left the electricity cables naked and this posed serious threats to the inhabitants of the house. The HRT later wrote to the ZESA Headquarters demanding that power be restored immediately and that ZESA makes investigations and deal with the employee. The farmer had made an effort to clear his debt but reconnection of power supplies had not been possible because of the vandalism of the electricity infrastructure. After the intervention of HRT, electricity was later reconnected. However, ZESA failed to track the employee who stolen the MCBs. Residents are encouraged to expose such behaviour by ZESA employees. Residents should desist from attempting to bribe ZESA employees who come to disconnect power supplies. ZESA is encouraged to ensure that there is discipline among meter readers and that it becomes accountable for all damaged electricity infrastructure in the communities. Residents are discouraged from making contributions for any damaged or stolen electricity infrastructure such as MCBs, power cables and transformers in the localities.

Case Three: This report was received from a 39 year old man from Glen Norah "B" who bought a three roomed house from a certain man in 1983 who now reside in New Zengeza, Chitungwiza. The house had not yet been transferred to the buyer. The client reported that an application was made to the High Court for the issue to be addressed after seeking legal advice from Harare Legal Project Centre. The person who sold the house to our client was ordered to facilitate the transfer of ownership of the house into our client's name by fulfilling all the requirements by the City's Housing Department. The client reported that he visited Remembrance Housing Department to seek assistance with the change of ownership as the person who sold the house was reluctant to settle the matter. He was advised to pay $300.00 to facilitate the change of ownership of his stand, which he did not have because he is unemployed. Upon receipt of this report, the HRT wrote to the Director of Housing and Community Services seeking firstly for a clarification of the process of ownership transfer. Shockingly the Director of Housing wrote in response saying that the client is supposed to pay a cession fee of $288.00 and that he should also pay $6.00 to be on the housing waiting list. The HRT urges the housing department to deal with such issues so as to avoid violating residents' rights to accommodation. Residents are discouraged from entering into informal deals which involve immovable properties. There is need to always access the title deeds from the seller of the property as well as confirm with the Deeds Office which is able to determine the authenticity of the produced documents. The resident can be reached on 0775 409268.

Case Four: A report was received from a resident from Waterfalls indicating that she was facing serious problems with the City Treasury department with her rates account. She had tried to talk to several people from the City Treasury Department who included Mr Ndemera and Mr Mandishona who is supposed to be in charge of the City rates section. She was told that the bill had risen unexpectedly because she was being faultily charged as commercial instead of residential by the City Treasury. She was advised that the department would immediately rectify the anomaly but this has not happened. According to the report, she was advised that she is in ZONE 40 and not 39, a situation that does not take a minute to rectify. Despite the countless visits by the lady, her account was never corrected and her debt continued to accumulate. She has made several follow-ups at Rowan Martin Building and at Town House but it has not been corrected. She was then referred to a Mr Murwira and Mr Dhoro who all said they will inform the client of the case. There was no positive action on the case. The account had risen to $2240.00. In the report to the HRT she stressed that she pays $100.00 every month to the City of Harare and that she does not miss a payment. She then received a statement indicating that the City of Harare is taking action against her threatening to attach her property without further notice. The HRT advised her to ignore the threats and remain resolute in demanding justice from the City Treasury Department. This was either negligence or incompetence on the City Treasury's part. The HRT then wrote a strongly worded letter to the City Treasury indicating that the situation in which the lady found herself in was due to the faulty billing system and that responsible officials were failing to do what they are paid to do. Within a week the client had received meaningful help from the City Treasury as her debt was slashed to the expected levels. The HRT encourages residents to take up the responsibility of monitoring their utility bills. From the story, the resident was being faultily billed, a problem that has become prevalent in most communities as a direct result of the collapsed council billing system. Residents who face problems with the billing system are encouraged to make individual follow-ups with the City Treasury department or approach the HRT for assistance. The resident can be reached on 04 - 702561-8 or 0772387165.

Case Five: Residents of Kambanje made a report to the HRT that they were facing serious problems in their community being caused by a grinding mill that was located at Number 2521 Outspan Way Kambanje which had operated in the last 5 years. The Grinding mill caused serious noise, land and air pollution in the community. From the report received, the pollution had compromised the health and well being of the residents in the area. Residents of Kambanje approached the District Officer at Highlands District office and Borrowdale District office on this matter and received communication that investigations will be done on the case but there was no positive response. In 2010, a report was made at Town House concerning the issue. The report was left with Mr Lesley Gwindi, the head of Public Relations at the City of Harare. A promise was made that the City of Harare would deal with the case and restore peace to the residents. Due to the devastating effects of the grinding mill, residents from the area had tried selling their houses in an effort to secure a more peaceful environment but there had been no takers to the offers because of this problem. The grinding mill would operate at odd hours which affected families in the area. Rodents had seriously multiplied in the community because of the waste generated by the mill.

The residents of Kambanje knew no peace because of the grinding mill. In response the HRT wrote to the Director of Urban Planning Services demanding an explanation on why the mill had been placed in a residential area and that it should be closed down to restore peace and harmony to the residents. The grinding mill was later closed.

There was mixed feelings on this move as residents who had relied on it from nearby communities felt that the mill was not supposed to be closed down. On the contrary, Kambanje residents celebrated its closure. Illegal allocation of stands for business ventures in the communities by council is increasingly becoming a major problem which residents should watch out for in their localities. Due to the economic problems vendors are being allocated street corners for vending while other business tycoons are constructing markets at undesignated points in the communities. These activities should not be found in the communities as they may disturb community peace or lead to the invasion of areas reserved for recreational activities.

These activities benefit community but residents are encouraged to confront their District Officer based at your local District Office if they suspect corruption in the allocation of stands.

Visit the Harare Residents' Trust fact sheet

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