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Blessings Chidakwa Municipal Reporter
Government is moving in to de-register all housing cooperatives to avoid further duping of home-seekers by greedy land barons invading and parcelling out State land across the country, an official has revealed.

Spelling out his vision yesterday, newly-appointed Provincial Development Coordinator (PDC) Mr Tafadzwa Muguti said the President had appointed him to bring order and sanity in Harare Province.

“The office of the PDC works directly with office of the Minister of State. We are moving in to de-register any so called housing cooperatives, people should be dealing directly with local authorities,” he said.

“There is no room anymore for the so called housing cooperatives which are fleecing people of their money. The general public must stop dealing with individuals for acquiring State land, local authority land and privately owned land.”

Mr Muguti said between 2004 up to now there have been an influx of land developers that would get into partnership with local authorities by purporting to have the financial resources for services which were needed for land, but failed to deliver.

“All housing developments were saying they would provide these services. We have an influx of cooperatives that up today have been going around collecting money from members for service delivery,” he said.

“The role of Government is to plan and the role of local authorities is to provide services to people. There is no clause in our Constitution which gives cooperatives the right to purport or to represent the Government.”

Mr Muguti said the country is operating in a political dispensation where there has never been as much political will as the one prevailing right now.

“So there is the political will and the President has been very clear that no matter how high or low you are you cannot bend the law,” he said.

“We need to make sure we get to the bottom of every situation we need to arrest and make sure these people are locked up who have been messing around in terms of breaking the law.”

Mr Muguti said his office would be meeting with all stakeholders so that they can come up with a proper modus operandi in terms of property development like many other countries which are leading now in land development.