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Joseph Madzimure Senior Reporter

The Goodness and Mercy Ministries temporary church structure in Glen View 1, Harare,  has been demolished as Harare City Council takes advantage of the lockdown to remove all unapproved and illegal structures.

The older complex on the site, used as counselling centre, was spared. It has been approved for that use and is properly planned, converted and built.

Under city by-laws, all places of public assembly have to go through a process to ensure safety requirements are met, with the maximum number of people allowed inside at any one time set and adequate exits in place so that everyone can get out safely and quickly in the event of a fire.

These requirements are tougher than those required by a shop, offices or houses.

Besides these design and building requirements, there are the usual planning requirements including seeking approval from neighbours for large crowds to assemble.

The church’s founder, Prophet Tapiwa Freddy, was bitter yesterday when found in the wreckage of his building that could accommodate 1 500 congregants.

His security team was loitering around the prayer centre, a permanent building that was not demolished, while he was sitting close to the snooker table inside the prayer centre.

“The church was demolished maybe because we occupied this place on a temporary basis. When they demolished it they claimed it was illegal. Everyone was aware of this; that is why we did not build it on a permanent basis. We were just expecting them to tell us to remove the structures like what we had agreed on the first place.

“So to our uttermost surprise they just demolished without giving us any notice,” the visibly shaken Prophet Fred. “We were shocked because we used to have a good relationship with the Harare City Council. We have engaged them in many cases. This place that we are right now it’s a counselling centre of Goodness and Mercy Ministries. We have its papers that is why it was not demolished, but where we were holding our church service, was on temporary basis.

“All along for the past three years, we were using tents fully aware that we cannot build anything and we even communicated with the local councillors here, and they gave us permission to set up a proper shed, which was stronger but on a temporary basis, and that is what we did. We were just expecting them to tell us to remove it, but not to come and demolish just to cause unnecessary commotion,” he said.

“It is the strict and unmanageable requirements needed by local authorities to acquire a church stand that forces us to build on illegal places. I talked to Mayor Herbert Gomba and he apologised to me because he knew it. When I told him that my church was demolished, he said he phoned the team leader who was demolishing saying that what they did was very wrong. That is what he told me on Zimbo Live yesterday.

“He promised to meet me on Monday next week at his office so that we can map the way forward,” said Prophet Fred.

Turning to the counselling centre, he said they have a lease agreement with the Harare City Council.

“When we started coming here, we were using this place as our place of worship, since 2008. When the church grew bigger we saw it fit to extend the church. We approached the same city council and they gave us the nod to go ahead. That was the agreement and we started to pay them. We started to pay US$25 per month and they reviewed the charges upwards until late last year when they just told us to stop paying. So that was the communication they did to us.

“They gave us this place as a place of gathering where people are allowed to gather and that is what I was working with them. Surprisingly, instead of them coming back to me, they just came and demolished when I thought we were in good books. We have plans that we submitted to them. They did not turn these down. We were expecting them to notify us, the shed was on temporary basis,” he said.

Goodness and Mercy Ministries has been allocated a 2 000 square metre stand in Glenview 7 to build their church and complex but are yet to start work since the stand is in an area under a housing co-operative and the compliance certificate, certifying that proper services are in place, is yet to be issued.

“I am now stuck. I cannot build the structure because I don’t have the compliance certificate. At that place, there are no roads that are serviced, no sewer system. The way forward is to engage the mayor for an alternative place around the area that we already know,

Mayor Gomba was not reachable for comment.