Approximately 200 houses and properties, including two luxury mansions near the National Heroes Acre, have been illegally constructed on land earmarked for the Harare Drive expansion project and are now at risk of demolition.
The City of Harare maintains that Harare Drive was originally designed as a circular route around the city, and its expansion plans remain unchanged. The original 1998 engineering designs outline missing sections of the road intended to connect key areas such as Solomon Mujuru Drive (formerly Kirkman Road) at Warren Hills, Gleneagles Road in Southerton, Houghton Park, Mainway Meadows, Retreat, Seke Road, Twentydales Road in Hatfield, and Mutare Road in Msasa.
Encroachment has been most severe in Waterfalls and Retreat, where over 100 houses have been built on land designated for the road. In Mainway Meadows, residents have left a 60-meter-wide corridor open for future development.
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However, in Retreat, illegal construction continues, allegedly facilitated by land barons selling stands in anticipation of the road’s completion.
Prominent among those affected is Minister Oliver Makoni of Church of Grace Ministries, who denies encroaching on road reserve land, stating that all site plans and paperwork are in order.
Harare City Council’s acting director of urban planning, Samuel Nyabezi, acknowledged the widespread encroachment, particularly in Retreat, and confirmed that all illegal structures would eventually be demolished. He emphasized that no approvals were granted for residential development on land reserved for the road.
Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume echoed this stance, insisting that demolition was the only viable solution, unless blocked by the government.
Despite these declarations, a recent Constitutional Court ruling deemed demolitions without court orders unconstitutional, posing a legal challenge for authorities seeking to clear the land.
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