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Sydney Mubaiwa in ZAKA
Over 500 illegal settlers in and around Jerera Growth Point here have been given eviction letters by Zaka Rural District Council, which is seeking to restore sanity and allow the organised growth and expansion of the sprawling growth point.

The development comes in the wake of proliferation of illegal settlements in the district’s commercial capital.

Over the past few years, village heads from areas around Jerera such as Musiso, Bare and Gwanya were being accused of illegally selling land to desperate home seekers, a situation that compromised growth and development of the fast-growing growth point.

Zaka RDC says the evictions will continue until all illegal settlers were flushed out.

Presenting a report in a full council meeting held at Jerera recently, district development coordinator Mr Ndeya Nyede, said wanton illegal selling of land in areas surrounding the growth point was now a cause for concern.

Mr Nyede vowed to stop the madness through issuance of prohibition orders.

“We have over 500 illegal settlers who were served with prohibition notices,” he said.

“We had a challenge in the past years that village heads were illegally selling land around the growth point and these are the people giving us headaches.”

Mr Nyede said the local authority wanted sanity to prevail in the allocation of land for residential purposes.

The move also dovetailed with President Mnangagwa’s vision of making Zimbabwe an upper middle income economy by 2030.

Mr Nyede said Jerera’s growth and expansion into a modern urban settlement could only be achieved if settlements were developed in a planned and sustainable manner.

According to a recent research commissioned by the Ministry of Health and Child Care, illegal settlements have been identified as some of the direct drivers of water-borne diseases like cholera and typhoid.