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Report
on the impact of Operation Murambatsvina: The case of Hatcliffe
extension
Researched
and compiled by
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) &
Department
of Sociology, University of Zimbabwe
May, 2006
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Executive
summary
In
May 2005 the Government of Zimbabwe launched a month long clean-up
campaign termed "Operation
Murambatsvina", translated as Operation Drive out
the filth. The Operation was justified as a program to enforce
City bylaws to halt allegedly illegal activities and realize high
standard of cleanliness in major cities and towns throughout Zimbabwe.
The
clean up campaign was carried out from the 19th of May to the 12th
of June 2005 throughout the major cities and towns of Zimbabwe.
Hundreds of thousands of men, women and children were rendered homeless,
without access to food, water and sanitation, or health care. Education
for thousands of school age children has been disrupted. Many of
the sick, including those with HIV and AIDS, no longer have access
to care. The vast majority of those directly and indirectly affected
are the poor and disadvantaged segments of the population. They
are, today, deeper in poverty, deprivation and destitution, and
have been rendered more vulnerable.
Operation
Murambatsvina took place at a time of persistent budget deficits,
triple-digit inflation, critical food and fuel shortages and chronic
shortages of foreign currency. It was implemented in a highly polarized
political climate characterized by mistrust, fear and a lack of
dialogue between Government and local authorities, and between the
former and civil society. The findings of this report provide an
insight into the far-reaching and long-term social, economic, political
and institutional consequences of the Operation.
The
report provides empirically supported insight into the impacts and
consequences of Operation Murambatsvina. Whilst previous research
has focused on homelessness and food insecurity, this survey undertakes
a more holistic examination of the impacts of the operation.
This
report presents findings of an Impact Survey and Situational Analysis
carried out in Hatcliffe Extension, Harare. The survey was carried
out in the months of November and December 2005, to assess the impact
of Operation Murambatsvina and highlights the disastrous
consequences on the lives of Hatcliffe Extension residents.1
The
research targeted 4000 households in Hatcliffe Extension, the majority
of whom (96.5%) were Zimbabwean citizens. Aliens constituted only
3.3% of the target population. The suggestion is of a sustained
war being launched on the most vulnerable Zimbabwean citizens by
their own government.
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1. A livelihood
is defined herein as comprising of assets, capabilities, entitlements
and endowments, (including both material and social resources, and
the activities required for a means of living. (UNDP 1999.)
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