The ZIMBABWE Situation Our thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe
- may peace, truth and justice prevail.

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Zim Online

Zimbabwe rejects UN report as biased
Sat 23 July 2005
  HARARE - The Zimbabwe government on Friday rejected a United Nations
report condemning its controversial urban clean-up campaign, saying the
report was biased and hostile to the southern African nation.

      But analysts and human rights activists in Harare welcomed the report
saying it vindicated them and called on President Robert Mugabe to bring to
book those responsible for the clean-up exercise as demanded by the UN
report.

      They also said the report, commissioned by UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan, could open the way for tougher UN Security Council action to punish
human rights abuses by Mugabe's government.

      But Zimbabwe Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi dismissed
the report off hand, telling journalists in Harare last night that Operation
Murambtsvina or Operation Restore Order, government codenames for the
clean-up exercise, was carried in accordance with the country's laws and
conformed to international standards.

      "The report describes the operation in value-laden and judgmental
language which clearly demonstrates inbuilt bias against the government and
the operation," Mumbengegwi told a news conference called last night to
respond to the report.

      "The report demonstrates hostility to the operation.the report's
allegation that the operation was carried out in a manner that violated
'national and international legal frameworks' is false," said Mumbengegwi.

      The report, which breaks silence in the UN over Mugabe's policies, was
compiled by UN-Habitat executive director Anna Tibaijuka and comes as
Western states have unsuccessfully tried to put the issue on the UN Security
Council's agenda.

      The report, the first detailed record of the impact of Harare's
clean-up exercise, said more than 700 000 people had lost their homes and
means of livelihoods in the operation, adding another 2.4 million people
were also affected by the government exercise.

      But Mumbengegwi said the figures were not true.

      The Zimbabwe foreign affairs minister also said Tibaijuka had upheld
"a pro-opposition tone" in her report adding that while Harare welcomed
external help, it was strongly opposed to intrusions or assistance that came
with conditions.

      He charged that former colonial master Britain had hijacked and
politicised Tibaijuka's two-week mission to Zimbabwe which ended this month
with a view to take her report to the UN Security Council.

      It was not possible to get comment from the British embassy in Harare
on the charges last night.

      University of Zimbabwe (UZ) political analyst Heneri Dzinotyiwei told
Zimonline that the hard-hitting report cleared the way for Western countries
to haul crisis-sapped Zimbabwe before the Security Council.

      "This gives the countries calling for action against Zimbabwe an
opportunity to push the report to the Security Council and that is not a
good omen for the country," Dzinotyiweyi said.

      The UZ lecturer spoke as Britain's UN ambassador Emyr Jones-Parry on
Friday told the Press that Tibaijuka's report "deserves to be brought to the
attention of the council and the council will have to take note of its
findings."

      A lawyer from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights group that has
unsuccessfully battled in courts to halt the government exercise, Rangu
Nyamurungira, welcomed the UN report because it sets the stage for Harare
officials behind the clean-up exercise to face justice.

      Nyamurungira said: "What the UN has said is what we have been saying
but even more important, it sets the stage for the government to take action
against all the people who during this operation caused the suffering to
innocent families."

      At least five people died during the operation, according to police
figures, but independent sources say that more could have died as
Zimbabweans in May woke up to government bulldozers tearing down their
structures without due notice. - ZimOnline

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Zim Online

Mayor suspended in clean-up retribution drive
Sat 23 July 2005

      MUTARE - The Zimbabwe government has suspended the mayor of the
country's fourth largest city of Mutare whom it had publicly accused of
improper conduct for telling a United Nations envoy that the government's
clean-up exercise had caused untold suffering on poor families in the city.

      But Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo told journalists in the
city that he had suspended Executive Mayor Misheck Kagurabadza and three
other top officials without pay or other benefits for flouting regulations
and for financial indiscipline.

      Chombo did not elaborate on the charges against the mayor and his
officials whom he said were suspended pending investigations and further
disciplinary action.

      Kagurabadza, who won the Mutare mayorship on an opposition Movement
for Democratic Change party ticket, could not be reached for comment on the
matter last night.

      The opposition mayor embarrassed the government when he took UN envoy
Anna Tibaijuka around the city showing her families who were living in the
open without adequate food or clean water after their homes were demolished
by the government.

      The governor of Manicaland province under which Mutare falls, Tinaye
Chigudu, publicly criticised Kagurabadza accusing him of improper conduct
and of wanting to misrepresent the clean-up drive to Tibaijuka.

      A report by Tibaijuka released on Friday castigated the government
clean-up exercise as a gross violation of human rights. She has called for
the prosecution of those behind the operation.

      Chombo headed the Cabinet committee that masterminded the operation
which has also been roundly condemned by the United States of America,
European Union, Zimbabwean and international human rights groups. -
ZimOnline

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Washington Post

For Zimbabwe's Displaced, Returning Home to Rubble
Many Shun Resettlement Camps and Tentatively Rebuild

By Craig Timberg
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, July 23, 2005; Page A09

PORTA FARM, Zimbabwe -- The government called it Operation Murambatsvina -- 
literally, "Drive Out the Rubbish." But to hundreds of thousands of people
like Gertrude Musaruro, the slum-clearance program has another name: the
Tsunami.

For 14 years, Porta Farm was Musaruro's modest sanctuary in a cruel country.
The community, about 20 miles west of Harare, the capital, had a school for
her children and later her grandson. The nearby Manyame River yielded just
enough fish each year to support a populace of more than 10,000.

But on June 28, she watched helplessly as a government bulldozer smashed
through her three-room house and a wooden cabin that together sheltered her
family of nine. Then, the police trucked her and most other residents to a
bleak resettlement camp miles away. According to news reports, the assault
with heavy equipment left four people dead.

"I am sitting like a butterfly or like a bird that stays in the tree. No
house, no seat," said Musaruro, 45, who left the camp and took two long bus
trips to return to her ruined home, preferring to sleep outside among the
rubble.

President Robert Mugabe's aggressive campaign to "clean up" Zimbabwe's
illegal dwellings and markets has left more than 700,000 people homeless
during the coldest months of the year, according to the United Nations, and
has created the most serious crisis for this southern African nation in five
years of steep decline.

A sharply critical U.N. report issued Friday called on Mugabe to stop razing
shantytowns. The controversial program has sent armed police into poor
neighborhoods throughout the country, knocking down buildings and even
forcing residents to tear their own homes apart.

On a recent day in Porta Farm, where several hundred families have returned
on their own, children played among piles of shattered bricks, shards of
asbestos siding and rusty barbed wire. Men sat on the cracked concrete
remains of a bar, drinking high-test African beer called Scud, while women
worked among the low shelters that many have cobbled together near their old
residences.

As she talked about her ordeal, Musaruro occasionally laughed and shrugged.
But when the subject turned to the government of Mugabe, who has ruled since
independence in 1980, she balled her right hand into a fist and raised it as
if ready to throw a punch.

Her anger was not new. In October 1991, police bulldozed her previous home,
in one of several densely packed communities around Harare, just before a
meeting of the British Commonwealth that was to feature a rare visit by
Queen Elizabeth.

That day, Musaruro said, residents were assured that new, better homes were
waiting for them, thanks to the government. But after a long ride on the
back of a truck, they were dumped at Porta Farm, then little more than an
empty meadow with a few trees scattered amid dry grass.

But there were lush hills to the south and a man-made lake beyond. A short
walk west lay the Manyame River, where fishermen could hook fierce but tasty
tiger fish from the swift, murky waters. At 10 pounds or more, a big tiger
fish could feed a family for several days or fetch good money at markets in
Harare.

Although Porta Farm was supposed to be a temporary resettlement camp, it
gradually grew into something more -- a community with a school, a church, a
mosque and thousands of homes made of brick, thatch and asbestos. Dozens of
small shops operated out of homes, offering bread, soft drinks and other
basics.

In a country where the unemployment rate is estimated at 70 percent or
above, most of Porta Farm's men were able to work at fishing, and most of
its women sold goods, either here or in Harare.
Musaruro's family grew as well. Along with her four children, there were
soon three grandchildren, making their little brick house even more cramped.
When a Christian aid group offered to build them a cabin a few feet away,
Musaruro was grateful.

To cover the bills, she bought fish from local men and resold them in Harare
for a small profit. With the salary from her husband's job as a security
guard, they made about $75 a month, she said.

Porta Farm was often called a slum, and it lacked the proper building plans
and permits required to secure legal existence. But in the minds of the
residents, it was home.

"I was happy," said Musaruro, "because I started to build a new life."

Operation Murambatsvina began May 19, seven weeks after Mugabe's party won a
landslide in parliamentary elections that many Western nations and human
rights groups said was rigged. Defending the destruction of markets and
homes, Mugabe denounced the uncontrolled growth of densely packed urban
areas in an economy that had contracted by a third since 2000.

"Our cities and towns had deteriorated to levels that were a real cause for
concern," Mugabe was quoted as saying in a government-run newspaper the next
week. "Our cities and towns . . . had become havens for illicit and criminal
practices and activities that just could not be allowed to go on."

After demolishing tens of thousands of supposedly illegal structures in and
around Harare, police moved outward to the suburbs and even some rural
areas. Last week the government, facing harsh international criticism,
announced a temporary halt to the campaign, though opposition leaders
contended that it would resume once world attention eased.

But enormous damage has already been done. The families of Porta Farm are
split among the remains of the community, the government resettlement camp
and ancestral homes in far-flung rural areas.

Musaruro's children and grandchildren are still at the resettlement camp,
where she said her 15-year-old grandson, Rangarirai, has missed three weeks
of classes and developed a worrisome cough. Meanwhile, she and her husband
pooled their money to take a bus back to Porta Farm, joining a chaotic
influx of returnees that has now swelled into the thousands.

At first, they all slept outside amid the rubble, trying to ward off the
frigid nights with small fires. Then drenching rains began. After one night
that left her soaked and shivering, Musaruro built herself a small shelter
from leftover bricks. She laid a piece of corrugated tin on top. Then she
crawled inside and lay down on the dirt floor with her husband.

Over the next several days, structures of every conceivable design began
emerging. Old pieces of thatch roof and rusty scraps of sheet metal were
fashioned into tiny houses. One 15-year-old girl sewed plastic lime bags
into a tent that fit over a frame of branches.

By the third week, few people were still sleeping in the cold, but Operation
Murambatsvina had succeeded into turning a solid community into a hazardous
hodgepodge. Residents said they dared not erect new, full-size homes for
fear the police would return.

Still, Musaruro is already dreaming how to make her life whole again. If
other residents start to build, she said, she will follow. Her husband is
unable to lift heavy things because of an old shoulder injury, but she said
she would happily do the brickwork.

"Me, I do it," she said. "I build myself."

What she wants most, however, is to see her family reunited. Her plan is to
buy a single tiger fish, take a bus into Harare, sell it for two or three
dollars, then use the profits to take a bus to the resettlement camp and
bring back at least one child or grandchild. She said she would do the same
thing every day until everyone is back at Porta Farm.

But first, she said, she is waiting to make sure the Tsunami will stay away.

"Maybe it will come again. Maybe it will not come again," she said. "I don't
know."
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The Times
 
July 23, 2005



Graham Hatty with some of the Nigerian subsistence farmers whom he hopes to train: "I would not have missed this for the world. I am very optimistic," he says (PHOTO: CHRIS HARRIS)

New life for the farmers who lost everything but their love of Africa


GRAHAM HATTY stared out over a sight he thought he would never see again. “It is beautiful. I feel like I have died and gone to heaven,” he said proudly as he surveyed acres of his own freshly planted farm-land stretching out to the horizon in a classic African vista.

Mr Hatty, 66, lost land and equipment in President Mugabe’s land grab. Now he is one of 13 white Zimbabwean farmers who have accepted a challenge that has left many staring at them in disbelief: come and start over again in Nigeria.

“People said you have to be nuts to go over there but we were simply bowled over when we came over to have a look,” said Mr Hatty, who has just finished sowing his first crops. “The potential here is amazing. The soil is magnificent.”

As he walked through fields sprouting with green shoots and full of freshly recruited farm workers, he added: “I would not have missed this for the world. I am very optimistic. The people here are great workers, very welcoming. I would not go back even if I got the farm back.”

The group was invited to resettle in Nigeria’s western Kwara state last year, but many thought the project would never get off the ground. Now, after a year of living in tents, battling with malaria and clearing dense bush from virgin land, the commercial farmers say that they have proved people wrong.

Alan Jack, another of the farmers, said: “We have been given an opportunity for a second chance and we took it. We are Africans, after all, and we have no intention of leaving this continent. Most of us were born in Africa, and Africa is where we want to stay.”

Sitting on the veranda of a newly constructed home, Mr Jack outlined plans to set up an irrigation scheme from the Niger river, import about 2,000 head of cattle, set up a milk-processing plant and develop a poultry industry.

The farmers are expected to invest £10 million to £12 million in the projects. Most of the money is raised locally. “We are already employing some 2,000 people, but the knock-on effect, from tractor mechanics upwards, is huge,” Mr Jack said.

Mr Hatty lost land and equipment valued at £2 million after an army general seized his farm outside Norton, 120 miles north of Harare. “I hung on till the last moment, but it was obvious what would happen if I resisted any longer,” he said. For now, he lives in a hotel in the nearby town of Ilorin, while the younger farmers have made do with tents alongside their new land. “Mugabe ’s loss is Nigeria’s gain. We are not allowed to work in our own country so we have come here. Mugabe is watching closely and praying we’ll fail. We won’t.”

He is employing 320 local subsistence farmers who have seen their incomes treble. “They work on their own plots after finishing here and we hope we can train them so they can improve their own yields,” Mr Hatty said. Nigeria, a country synonymous with corruption, mismanagement and bureaucracy, has no shortage of good farming land, but it has been left uncultivated. The country spends more than £2 billion a year on food imports.

The scheme was the idea of Kwara state’s governor, Bukola Saraki, a former economic adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo. He said: “These people really see themselves as African, and they have something we don’t — knowledge and expertise — and can help us develop farming here.”

Mr Saraki sent close aides to Zimbabwe to meet the Commercial Farmers Union after Mr Mugabe began confiscating white-owned farms and giving them to landless blacks and ruling party apparatchiks in 2000. “Given Nigeria’s reputation it was a tough sell, but we convinced them it was a win-win situation,” he said.

More than 90 per cent of the state’s 2.3 million people live off the land but the area has no commercial farms. Mr Saraki arranged for the farmers to lease more than 1,000 hectares each on a peppercorn rent for 25 years, with the option of a further 25-year renewal. He has arranged the installation of electricity and mobile phone networks. “I want more to come. Who knows, one day we may be able to export agricultural produce from here.”

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JUSTICE FOR AGRICULTURE LEGAL COMMUNIQUE - July 22, 2005

Email: justice@telco.co.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
Internet: www.justiceforagriculture.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today's Herald, Friday 22 July 2005, contains one new listing of Section 7
Notices (application for confirmation of Section 8 acquisition orders)
under Lot 14, pertaining to 23 properties.

Farming property owners are reminded that "heads of agrument" objections,
prepared by a competent legal practitioner, must be lodged at the
Administrative Court within five days.

The JAG Trust strongly advises all property owners to continue to legally
challenge all acquisition process.  The JAG Trust and JAG Members
Association remain committed to assisting all farming property owners and
commercial farmers, both on farm and displaced, with a well-strategised,
comprehensive and holistic approach to countering the ongoing assault on
commercial agriculture conducted under the guise of "land reform".  It is
essential that farmers needing help contact the JAG team for assistance
which is available on a number of fronts.

Herewith Lot 14, Section 7 Notices (23 properties):

6348/86 John Henry Du Rand Chipinga Lot 4 of Smithfield 207,2186ha
LA5919/05
4106/76 Rhoda Elizabeth Agnes Fryser Inyanga R/E of Rukotso of Inyanga
Downs of Inyanga Block 765,7126ha LA5917/05
3110/66 Inyangani Farm P/L Inyanga Nyazengu of Inyanga Block 2632,898ar
LA5921/05
4832/83 Timber Sales P/L Inyanga Chingamwe Estae 3806,9336ha LA5925/05
12578/99 Spring Valley Estates P/L Inyanga Newhaven Estate A 329,633ha
LA5916/05
5254/84 Michael J K Freeland makoni 26A of Lawrencedale Estate 1209,8845ha
LA5910/05
6809/85 Willie Raymond Van Der Vyver makoni Plumpton 902,7700ha LA5923/05
3106/94 Maryhill Farm P/L mazoe Remainder of Netherfield 700,5891ha
LA5912/05
9571/89 A P Sanderson P/L umtali Lot 1 of Tobruk of Clare Estate Ranch
385,4713ha LA5918/05
5998/91 Brightside Farm P/L umtali Lot 1 of Fangundu 251/4106ha LA5926/05
338/90 Tumbuka P/L Umtali Odzi Drift Estate 553,5915ha LA5909/05
10424/2000 Bart Van Niekerk & Peta Lynn Niekerk umtali Copplestone
103,0394ha LA5906/05
2699/2000 Brandhill P/L umtali Lot 7 of Lot 1 of Mazonwe 272,7641ha
LA5928/05
4187/92 Rupurara Trout Farm P/L umtali Remainder of Rupurara 1374,2128ha
LA5924/05
1807/64 B A Van Buuren & Co P/L umtali Lot 2 of Lot 1 of Mazonwe
1138,4673ar LA5927/05
5866/90 Sala Holdings P/L umtali Lot 1 of Lot 12A of Bunga 118,1740ha
LA5920/05
660/02 Firkinn Investments P/L umtali Lot 12A of Bunga 151,6515ha LA5922/05
744/89 I L Cripps umtali Remainder of Lot 1 of Cloudlands 107,1483ha
LA5914/05
5990/88 Hillbilly Estate P/L umtali Lot 1D of Highlands 102,3411ha
LA5915/05
6292/96 Chinamata Farm P/L umtali Lot 1 of S/D M of Manchester 204,5362ha
LA5907/05
3226/81 Alvern Farming P/L umtali Lot 1 Vooruitsig of Clydesdale
1181,2093ha LA5908/05
1111/03 Prince Julie Investments P/L umtali Devon of Umvumbu 244,1564ha
LA5913/05
4939/71 West Away Farm P/L umtali Lot 2 of Cloudlands Estate 538,8640ha
LA5911/05
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From SW Radio Africa, 21 July

33 arrested as police unleash dogs and teargas on NCA demonstrators

By Violet Gonda

A woman was severely mauled by police dogs and 33 people were arrested when
riot police violently disrupted a peaceful demonstration by the National
Constitutional Assembly in Harare, Thursday. The police also threw teargas
at the NCA activists who were protesting against Mugabe's proposal to amend
the constitution so he can introduce the senate and nationalise land. NCA
Chairman Dr Lovemore Madhuku said he was encouraged by the more than 400
people who took to the streets. He said police were taken by surprise
because the pressure group had not announced the action and the starting
time was delayed just to mislead the police. The group managed to march from
4th Street to 3rd Street and Jason Moyo, until being dispersed by teargas
after they had passed the parliament building and were along Nelson Mandela
Avenue and First Street. There are fears that Mugabe is trying to get his
cronies into parliament through the backdoor. The NCA is calling for a
people driven constitution that is written by the people and not by the
government. The constitution amendment bill was gazetted this week. Madhuku
says only an undemocratic government will allow this bill to be debated in
parliament without any consultation from the main stakeholders, the people.
Madhuku said despite the violent way the police broke up the demonstration
it was encouraging to see the level of courage and determination in the
people who participated. He said; "We had only told a small group of NCA
activists, just to show that its possible for Zimbabweans to rise and
demonstrate and hopefully encourage other participants in the Broad Alliance
to say that it's possible."
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From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 21 July

Zim defiant over loan conditions

Nic Dawes and Rapule Tabane

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe may well choke on the tough conditions
attached to any loan package offered to him by the South African
government - despite Zimbabwe's worsening foreign currency crunch. Mugabe's
spokesperson, George Charamba, told the Mail & Guardian that Zimbabwe would
not accept financial help tied to conditions, adding that South Africa was
one of numerous countries Zimbabwe had approached. "I don't understand why
the South African media is treating the loan request as unique to South
Africa. We have also made representations to the Indian government,"
Charamba said. Mugabe is due to visit China this weekend and diplomatic
observers believe China is the country most likely to step into the breach.
Beijing is anxious to secure access to minerals such as platinum and chrome,
which Zimbabwe has in abundance, and may provide a way for Mugabe to acquire
hard currency without making political concessions.

In the first clear sign that South Africa is prepared to use its economic
leverage to break Zimbabwe's political logjam, President Thabo Mbeki's
Cabinet was expected this week to discuss Mugabe's request for a $1-billion
loan facility. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), meanwhile, is taking
final steps in preparation to expel Zimbabwe for its persistent failure to
pay a $295-million debt. Government officials stress that no decision has
yet been taken to extend a credit line, but that any help will be based on a
South African assessment of what is appropriate for Zimbabwe's needs and
will entail stringent terms. These are understood to include the resumption
of talks on constitutional reform between Zanu PF and the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), an end to the Murambatsvina, or "drive
out filth" campaign to demolish illegal structures in urban areas, and
economic reforms. Charamba, was adamant that Zimbabwe would reject
conditions, particularly a call for new talks with the MDC. "We meet the MDC
on a daily basis and dialogue with them in parliament," he said. "Should the
MDC request talks outside Parliament, it will be considered. But firstly,
they would have to clarify their call for sanctions, which are now causing
untold suffering to ordinary Zimbabweans. That would be our precondition."
He added: "I don't understand why South Africans will put a condition that
we end Operation Clean Up when it has already ended. We are now at the next
stage, Operation Hlalani Kahle (stay and live well), which will focus on
housing delivery that goes beyond people affected by Operation Clean Up."
Nevertheless, the IMF's threatened withdrawal appears to have created a
window of opportunity for the South African government to push ahead with
plans for a "carrot-and-stick" package, which Finance Minister Trevor Manuel
has been quietly punting for some time.

Zimbabwe needs hard currency to buy fuel, electricity and basic commodities.
With its reserves exhausted, the government has been reduced to buying
dollars on the black market to fund imports. After a visit to Harare by
Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and Deputy Finance Minister Jabu
Moleketi, Manuel and Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni met officials, led
by Zimbabwe Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono, last Friday. South African
sources said that while the Zimbabwean delegation "painted a picture" of
their currency crisis, any funding would be shaped by their own assessment
of the situation. The credit facility was unlikely to amount to the reported
$1-billion. "It is far from a done deal," one official said. "The
conditionalities will be tough and Mugabe isn't going to like them at all."
China is seen as Zimbabwe's most likely benefactor, as it makes no pretence
of using aid to promote democracy and good governance. Western and African
diplomats are worried that the link between economic assistance and good
governance, established by initiatives such as the New Partnership for
Africa's Development (Nepad), may be undermined in China's drive for
resource security. In 2004 it agreed to a $2-billion line of credit for
Angola after an IMF loan fell through when the MPLA government would not
agree to anti- corruption conditions. The loan is backed by oil guarantees
and commitments to employ Chinese construction firms in the rebuilding of
infrastructure. Mugabe has already concluded agreements to buy fighter jets
and riot control gear from the Chinese government.

Despite these concerns, observers in Harare are buoyed by what they see as a
marked difference in pace and tone from South Africa and the African Union.
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangarai embarked on a hectic round of African diplomacy
ahead of the G8 summit at Gleneagles, meeting, among others, current AU
chairperson and Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to insist on the
importance of linking democratic reforms and economic recovery. Obasanjo and
Mbeki, who split in 2003 over Zimbabwe's suspension from the Commonwealth,
appear to have gone to Gleneagles united on that issue, even as Zimbabwe's
urban demolition campaign refocused international attention on the crisis.
Chief government spokesperson Joel Netshitenzhe was reluctant to give
details of the Cabinet discussions or the recent meetings with Zimbabwean
officials. "The discussions have been about how we can assist in the
Zimbabwean economic recovery programme as well as the normalisation of the
political situation," he said. "There is no agreement on a loan, but if the
issue arises, it would be referred to Cabinet and a loan facility would have
to be confirmed by Parliament." Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon,
meanwhile, questioned whether South Africa could afford the loan, saying
taxpayer funds should not be used to bail out a dictator. In a speech in
Cradock on Thursday, he said: "South Africa should not provide any
assistance beyond emergency relief until the Zimbabwean government meets
strict conditions, including, but not limited to: ending Operation
Murambatsvina; opening formal, public negotiations with opposition parties
under the supervision of the African Union and the United Nations; allowing
international aid agencies to operate freely within Zimbabwe; and providing
proof of all purchases made with money donated or loaned by South Africa."
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Financial Times

      Mollycoddled Mugabe
      Published: July 23 2005 03:00 | Last updated: July 23 2005 03:00

      Yesterday's publication of a damning report on Zimbabwe's slum
clearance policy is a milestone for the United Nations, which had previously
abstained from commenting on President Robert Mugabe's controversial
programme. On this issue at least, it should definitively quash Mr Mugabe's
excuses, and more significantly perhaps, those of his indulgent
­neighbours.

      Foremost among these is South Africa, potentially the most powerful
outside influence on Zimbabwe's affairs. Reports this week suggest that Mr
Mugabe has approached the South African government seeking a large loan - a
development that would further augment South Africa's leverage.
      Yet under President Thabo Mbeki, South Africa has opted for a "softly,
softly" approach that critics allege amounts to appeasement, and has so far
produced few results. By stating once and for all that whatever the motives
behind it, Mr Mugabe's slum clearance policy is ill-conceived and inhumane,
the UN report leaves no more room for equivocation.

      South Africa must now be seen to exert its leverage to the full in
whatever aid it extends to Zimbabwe. Mr Mbeki's credibility and South
Africa's international reputation are at stake, particularly if the country
wishes to lay claim to one of the new permanent seats being proposed for an
expanded UN Security Council.

      The UN's report should also call the bluff of institutions such as the
African Union, supposedly a vehicle for more rigorous peer monitoring by
Africans in return for more aid. With US and EU leverage exhausted, it is
African leaders, Mr Mbeki foremost among them, who need to step up to the
plate.

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The Scotsman

No, you can't star in Fringe - you might never go home

ANGIE BROWN

ALMOST 30 African singers were refused permission to enter the UK to make
their debut at the Edinburgh Fringe next month, amid official fears that
they would not return home.

The Zimbabwean group were due to stage two shows during the arts festival,
but at the last minute the British Embassy decided to withhold their visas.

 The decision was only overturned last night after the Assembly Theatre,
where they are billed to perform, stepped in to guarantee financial support
during the group's three-week stay.

William Burdett Coutts, the Assembly Theatre director, said stumping up the
£60,000 to house and feed the group was the least he could do for people
from a nation which was suffering great economic crisis.

"I flew out to see their shows in March and when I saw them I knew they had
to be heard at the Fringe," he said.

"The situation in Zimbabwe is terrible and six of the cast have been
directly affected, with their houses being bulldozed as part of Robert
Mugabe's 'operation clean-up'.

"They are a fantastic group. We have been selling tickets for their shows
and they are already in the top ten sellers list, so hopefully we will break
even."

The regime run by Mr Mugabe has been branded oppressive by the UN, and there
are a large number of Zimbabweans seeking asylum in Britain.

Rory Kilalea, the director and producer of both shows, Sing! Zimbabwe and
Tambuka, said it was "unbelievable" news.

Speaking from Harare in Zimbabwe, he said: "I am mightily relieved. Thank
goodness William backed us financially. He said his support for us was so
strong that he wanted to ensure we performed in the Festival.

"We are eternally grateful. We are unbelievably pleased - our dream has come
true. I had been absolutely distraught, I was beside myself when I was given
the terrible news."

The news comes amid an international protest against the decision to ban
five African nations from taking part in the third Homeless World Cup held
in Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh.

Organisers failed to persuade the Prime Minister to step in when British
Embassy officials refused visas to homeless footballers from Kenya, Burundi,
Zambia, Nigeria and Cameroon.

Edinburgh's deputy lord provost, Steve Cardownie, said he was pleased by the
Fringe U-turn.

"It's certainly good news. William is to be commended for his crucial
intervention. After what happened with the homeless football teams it is a
pleasant surprise that the Home Office has relented and I look forward to
attending one of the group's performances."

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We cannot comment on individual cases."
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 http://www.kubatana.net/html/archive/urbdev/050722chraaa.asp?sector=URBDEV&range_start=1 

 

A Study on the Impact of

“Operation Murambatsvina/Restore Order”

in 26 Wards of Harare High Density Housing  Areas

  

 

ActionAid International in Collaboration with

Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA)

 

 

July 2005


Executive Summary

The Harare Operation Murambatsvina Survey represents a unique opportunity to gain insights into the impact of Operation Murambatsvina on communities and households where the Operation was executed since 18 May 2005. This report attempts to give a factual account of the impact Operation Murambatsvina/Restore Order. This is done through analysis of the impact at both household level and community level.  

 

A structured questionnaire was used in the collection of data from 14,137 respondents distributed in 26 affected high density suburbs. The quantitative household survey was designed to collect the following types of information from the interviewed households: 1) household demographics, 2) Livelihood activities affected by the operation, 3) household impact, 4) current coping mechanisms being employed by the communities in response to the operation, 5) assistance communities are currently receiving 6) assistance currently being offered and assistance perceived as required by the communities.

 

Initially 26 team leaders for each ward were trained on the administration of the questionnaire and sampling procedures. Thereafter, a further 9 researchers were trained by the trained by the team leaders at ward level. Therefore, 260 researchers collected this information over a two day period. At least 500 homesteads were visited during the course of the study. This represents a third of households per ward.  Data collected was entered stored and exported into Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Version 13. Subsequently, analysis was done to generate frequencies, descriptive and derived variables. 

 

Socio-demographic data of the sampled wards

Assumptions:

  1. At least 3 households stay at one homestead
  2. Average household size is 5.8
  3. Assume the remaining 4 high density residential wards are not different from the other samples wards.
  4. 97% of households affected by the operation

Calculation Process:

  1. 14,137 households were survey
  2. total population surveyed is 81,995

Based on these figures and assumptions, the following are projected households that were affected by the operation;

Adding the remaining 4 wards – 30/26 * 14,137 = 16,311 households in all 30 wards

Total population affected, households sampled*average household size*average households per homestead*

16,311*5.8*3 = 283 811

However the sample is only a third of the population in the wards. Therefore, the total population would be:

            283 811*3= 851 434

 

 

 

 

 

From the data generated from the survey, 97% (n = 13 712) of homesteads visited in the 26 wards were affected by the Operation in varying proportions and different ways. Demographic data for the general population is discussed below:

·        Overall population sampled is 81,995 with an average household size of 5.8

·        The majority of respondents and household heads were male (56% and 61% respectively)

·        The total number of households affected by the operation (which includes; households that lost accommodation, had shelter lost, lost livelihoods, children not attending school as a result) was 97% (13,712) of sampled households. 

  • The average age of the head of household is 41 years, with the youngest reported as 12 years old and the oldest as 89 years old. 
  • Female household heads are slightly older than male household heads, 43 and 39 years old, respectively.  
  • Approximately 12% of homesteads visited are above 60 years (elderly headed) and only 1% (142) were headed by minors (commonly referred to as child headed, below 18 years).
  • 32% of interviewed households were hosting orphans, whilst a further 13% were hosting at least a chronically ill individual. A minority of 6% were hosting at least a mentally/physically challenged person. 
  • As a measure of vulnerability, the analysis classified all households in five categories (see table below). Most households interviewed fall in 3 categories (39%), whilst in 1 category: 15%; 2 categories: 31%; 4 categories: 11% and only 4% in the 5 categories.
  • Out of the 14,137 sampled homesteads, 22% of them reported that children were not attending school as a direct result of the Operation.

 

Livelihoods

The household survey inquired on primary sources of income of those affected by the Operation, since secondary information suggests that the Operation has had an adverse effect on the livelihoods.

  • A majority (73%) of urban dwellers were engaged in informal trading[1] prior to Operation Murambatvsina/Restore Order from the sample.
  • The primary sources of livelihood that have were cited to have been disrupted (73%) as a result of the Operation from the sample include: tuck shop ownership (9%), flea market (11%), fruit and vegetable vending (17%), offering accommodation (18%), cross border trader (6%) and petty trade (5%) such as sale of firewood.
  • Unfortunately, the vulnerable strata mentioned earlier were mainly engaged in the informal sector as captured below:

 

Proportions who were engaged informal and formal sectors

Strata

Informal sector

Formal sector

Female headed households

91%

9%

Child headed households

100%

0%

Households hosting orphans

92%

8%

Households hosting chronically ill members

91%

9%

Households hosting mentally/physically challenged persons

91%

9%

 

Impact of the Operation at household level

The extent to which a households or communities were affected has not been quantified. Scant, inconsistent and at times conflicting information is available on this issue. Therefore as one of the key findings of the survey, it was to explore and detail what it is that households lost during the exercise. This are discussed below:

 

Shelter

  • A majority (76%) of respondents reported that they had lost shelter. Loss of shelter was two fold 1) a tenant being evicted as a result of demolitions, 2) a land lord losing a section of his home as a result of the demolitions.

 

Source of income

  • Overall, 79% of interviewed households reported that they had lost their sources of income. This figure is similar to the 73% that had lost sources of income (livelihoods) as a direct result of the Operation. The increase may be attributable to multiple sources of income that households are engaged in to ameliorate vulnerability.
  • Strikingly this generally affected all households in the same proportion. 

 

Education for children

The welfare of children especially in terms of their ability to attend school is a basic fundamental right, was affected by the operation.

  • School drop out was reported to be 22%. However, 45% of households interviewed reported that they were at a precarious position in funding and accessing schools for their children, currently and in future. This may be a clear indication on the future prospects of school enrolment for children in the near future.

 

Property

  • Forty five percent (45%) of homesteads visited reported that they had incurred losses of property. Unfortunately, the survey was not able to quantify in Zimbabwean dollar value what it was exactly the affected communities had lost and also the nature of the property.

 

Deterioration in health

  • It is sad to note that slightly over 20% of people interviewed, attributed the deterioration of health of their loved ones as a direct result of the operation.

 

Food security

  • Approximately, 60% of households sampled claimed that they had become food insecure as a consequence of the Operation. Being urban areas, most of the food supply to the family is sourced from the market. Little or no food finds its way from the rural areas if a family has rural linkages exists. 

 

Household safety and security

Household safety and security was defined as the family ability to protect and safe guard its assets (physical) and from exploitation.

  • Almost half (49%) of the homesteads reported that this indicator had been compromised as a result of the operation.

 

Disruption of family unit

Housing waiting list runs into hundreds of thousands in Harare and all other urban areas in Zimbabwe. Sharing of homesteads and extension of houses was a way in which Harareans sought to mitigate the accommodation problem.

  • More than 75% of the respondents reported losing shelter.
  • It worrying to note that over 40% of homesteads visited reported that family units had been disrupted as a result of the operation. Mostly children and spouses had been relocated back to the rural homesteads if this was plausible.

 

Women status and dignity

Humiliation and loss of dignity as a direct result of the operation was also reported. Prior to the demolition exercise, it is reported and accounted by respondents that the authorities would move around marking what they deemed as illegal structures using paint. The marked buildings were to be destroyed. Such actions resemble a war situation. This is witnessed by 39% of the interviewed homesteads claiming that they had lost their dignity as a result of the Operation.

 

 

Increased vulnerability for women and children

  • It is saddening to note that 37% of the interviewed homesteads acknowledged that women and children had become more vulnerable to abuse as a consequence of the Operation. Furthermore, a high proportion of these were from female-headed households.

 

Psychologically affected (traumatised)

  • Almost 40% of respondents interviewed claimed that they had been traumatized by the graphic, detailed and heavy handedness of the implementers of the Operations. From the analysis done, this was generally the same across board. Despite the low proportion of child headed households, this seemed to be reported in 82% of child headed households.

 

Coping mechanisms adopted by households

  • Currently, only 37% households reported that they were using their own resources to sustain the family.
  • A further 22% claimed to be getting assistance from relatives, whilst government, community based organizations and non-governmental organizations accounted for a mere 6%.
  • More importantly is the realization that 35% of households were not managing at all. In this bracket, the majority were child- and women headed households accounting for 76% of the responses.

 

Assistance currently being received

  • Of those that reported receiving assistance from the various sources, the following categories are the nature of assistance being received; food (17%), shelter (15%), monetary (8%), education for children (7%), relocation (5%), psycho-social support (5%) and legal help (4%). This clearly suggests that there are major gaps in the support that is being offered to the communities.

 

Proportion of assistance required

Area of need

Proportion (%)

Shelter

73%

Food

83%

Compensation

4%

Relocation

45%

Education

56%

Legal help

4%

Monetary (financial help)

74%

Psycho-social support

42%

Perceived assistance required

Table clearly demonstrates the areas that when cited by respondents. From the preceding paragraphs, it has been documented that major support gaps are in existence in the 26 wards.

 

 


Recommendations

The range of recommendations presented in the report is mentioned in summary form below.  These are aimed at those involved and responding to the crisis. Policy analysis is urgent and will be subsequent to this report.

 

General Recommendations:-

 

  1. There is urgent need to resolve the accommodation/ shelter question for all affected families.
  2. Urgent restoration of livelihoods for affected families should be prioritised to ensure recovery and long term sustainability of income for affected communities.
  3. There is urgent need to grant and guarantee access to appropriate treatment and quality care for people living with HIV/AIDS.
  4. There is urgent need to conduct an in-depth national survey to better inform responses and to develop a commonly agreed national data set of the current situation.
  5. There is urgent need to scale up the national response and meet the needs of the affected families.
  6. There is need to consolidate the different coordination processes and ensure the meaningful sharing of information and activities by all stakeholders involved.
  7. Need for urgent donor commitment for additional support to affected communities.
  8. Urgent need to create awareness on the impact, extent and effects of the operation on affected communities.

 


Table of Contents

Executive Summary.................................................................................................... i

Recommendations...................................................................................................... v

Table of Contents..................................................................................................... vi

List of Tables............................................................................................................. vii

List of Graphs............................................................................................................ vii

Acronyms and abbreviations................................................................................. vii

Glossary of Terms.................................................................................................... viii

1.     Introduction...................................................................................................... 1

1.1       Background to “Operation Murambatsvina/Restore Order”......................... 1

2.     Methodology..................................................................................................... 2

2.1       Sampling......................................................................................................... 2

2.2       Sample size..................................................................................................... 3

2.3       Limitations of the survey................................................................................ 3

2.4       Data capture and analysis............................................................................... 4

3.     Survey Results.................................................................................................... 4

3.1       Socio-demographic data of the sampled affected wards in Harare................. 4

3.1.1    Traditional vulnerable groups..................................................................... 5

3.1.1.1     Orphans.................................................................................................. 5

3.1.1.2     Chronically Ill, mentally ill and physically challenged............................. 5

3.1.1.3     Elderly headed households..................................................................... 6

3.1.1.4     Child headed households........................................................................ 6

3.1.1.5     Women headed households.................................................................... 6

3.1.1.6     Multiple vulnerability............................................................................. 6

3.1.1.6     Education............................................................................................... 6

3.2       Livelihoods..................................................................................................... 7

3.3       Impact of Operation at household level......................................................... 8

3.3.1    Shelter........................................................................................................ 8

3.3.2    Source of income........................................................................................ 8

3.3.3    Education for children................................................................................ 8

3.3.4    Property...................................................................................................... 9

3.3.5    Deterioration in health............................................................................... 9

3.3.6    Food security.............................................................................................. 9

3.3.7    Household safety and security.................................................................... 9

3.3.8    Disruption of the family unit...................................................................... 9

3.3.9    Women status and dignity........................................................................ 10

3.3.10      Increased vulnerability for children, orphans and women..................... 10

3.3.11      Psychologically affected (traumatized)................................................. 10

3.4       Coping mechanisms being employed by affected communities.................... 10

3.5       Assistance currently being received by affected areas.................................. 11

3.6       Perceived assistance required by communities............................................. 11

4.     Conclusions....................................................................................................... 12

5.     Appendix............................................................................................................ 12

5.1       Questionnaire used in the survey.................................................................. 13

5.2       Wards visited and Questionnaires administered........................................... 15


List of Tables

Table 1:  Sample sizes for selected strata....................................................................... 4

Table 2: Marital status of respondents............................................................................ 4

Table 3:  Percent of households with chronically ill and mentally/physically challenged persons      5

Table 4: Vulnerability categories.................................................................................... 6

Table 5: Proportions who were engaged informal and formal sectors............................. 8

Table 6: Proportion of assistance required................................................................... 11

 

List of Graphs

Figure 1: Livelihoods before the Operation.................................................................... 7

Figure 2. Coping mechanisms being employed by communities................................... 11

 

Acronyms and abbreviations

 

UNCT                                                 United Nations Country Team

IOM                                        United Nations - International Organization for Migration

WFP                                        United Nations - World Food Programme 

UNDP                                     United Nation Development Programme 

FAO                                        Food and Agriculture Organization

INGOs                                    International Non-Governmental Organizations

CBO                                        Community Based Organisations 

HIV                                         Human Immuno Deficiency Virus

AIDS                                       Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome

HH                                          Household

GoZ                                        Government of Zimbabwe


Glossary of Terms

Child headed household

A household headed by a person below 18 years

Chronically Ill

A person who has had persistent and recurring illness during the last three months that has reduced his/her productivity.

Dependency ratio

Dependency ratios are useful parameters for defining vulnerable households, as they describe the ratio of non-productive to productive members of a household. 

Disabled

A person who has a mental and/or physical handicap that prevents him/her from full-productivity.

Elderly headed household

A household headed by a person above 60 and does not include a productive person (18 – 60 years old)

Female headed household

A household headed by a woman, the woman is the primary decision maker.

Head of the Household

The primary decision-maker in terms of allocating the natural, human, and financial resources available to the household. 

Homestead

A dwelling where one or more households could reside.

Household

A family unit comprising of a head and dependants. The head is not necessarily a relative of the dependant but is responsible for their well being.

Operation Murambatsvina/Restore Order

 

Orphan

A child with one (single orphan) or both parents (double) that have died and abandoned children. 

Ward

 

 

                                         


1.          Introduction

1.1        Background to “Operation Murambatsvina/Restore Order”

 

The Operation that changed the lives of thousands of people in Zimbabwe began on 18th May 2005; when the state declared and rolled out bulldozers with armed police across the cities of Zimbabwe to demolish all “illegal structures”. The operation witnessed the destruction of dwellings, livelihoods, vending stalls and the confiscation of goods and property belonging to informal traders. It is estimated that over 55 000[2] households in 52 sites across the country and between 250 000 - 500 000 have been rendered homeless, or forced to migrate to the rural areas. Furthermore, more than 30 000 people were arrested and fined in the process.  

 

To date, the operation has received wider condemnation from both local and international sympathizers, agencies and actors alike. The exercise has been described as inhuman and lacking proper planning. But the Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) continuously defends its position as attempt to clean up the urban centres and rid  them of illegal vendors, illegal dwellings and criminal elements who were among other things accused of fuelling the foreign currency black market.  

 

The humanitarian relief support and response to the affected individuals and families is being carried out under the coordination of various faith based organizations these include churches, in coordination with local community based organizations (CBOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

 

The United Nations Country Team (UNCT) comprising of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), World Food Programme (WFP), United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) together with numerous International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs), have been providing support to community organizations and churches involved in providing relief to the affected communities.

 

However, the nature and extent of responses is not only limited in its scope and coverage but lacking important and critical information necessary in providing a well coordinated and effective response. There is no socio-demographic or economic information on those affected as well as needs information to inform appropriate responses. Lack of information is affecting response programme planning, implementation and inability to ascertain the effectiveness of relief efforts. The major challenge being experienced in providing the adequate relief is that it is biased towards those with access to relief assistance (in holding camps and those that have been sheltered in churches); leaving the most vulnerable members of the affected population.

 

This survey conducted by CHRA and ActionAid within the high density areas of Harare, as an attempt to fill the void created by the lack of basic information on those affected and needing assistance as a result of “Operation Murambatsvina/Restore Order”.

 


2.         Methodology

 

A structured questionnaire was used in the collection of data from 14,137 respondents. The quantitative household survey was designed to collect the following types of information from the interviewed households:

1.      Household demographic information: including age, sex, status of parents (orphans), physical status of individuals (chronically ill and mentally/physically challenged), and school enrolment status,

2.      Livelihood activities: that household members were engaged in during the previous months before the Operation,

3.      Household impact of the Operation: estimates on lost shelter, source of income, education for children, property, deterioration of health (HIV/AIDS), food security, household safety and security, disruption of the family unit, women status and dignity, increased vulnerability for children, orphans and women and the psychological (trauma) effects,

4.      Current coping mechanisms being employed: using own resources, relatives support, aid agencies (NGOs), government support, community based organizations and those not coping at all,

5.      Assistance currently being provided: the questionnaire explored what the sampled communities are receiving as support i.e. shelter, food, compensation, relocation, education for children, legal help, monetary (financial support) and psycho-social support (counseling) and any other support.

6.      Assistance required by affected communities: i.e. shelter, food, compensation, relocation, education for children, legal help, monetary (financial support) and psycho-social support (counseling).  

 

Furthermore, enumerators took extra notes to complement the questionnaire (observational and other emerging issues).

 

Training of trainers: a total of 50 trainers were trained on the administration, sampling techniques and data quality control.

 

Training of enumerators: A further 210 enumerators were trained by the trained trainers at ward level.

 

2.1        Sampling

Administrative boundaries were used since these would help in the identification and prioritization of wards and assess the impact of the Operation and direct influence on defining livelihood characteristics of households. 26 out of 30 high density residential wards were surveyed for the purpose of this study. Wards not sampled because access by CHRA was not possible, include parts of Dzvivarasekwa (40, 39), Epworth (22), Kuwadzana (44).

 

A sampling interval of 2 was used to sample homesteads in a ward (since we required interviewing a third of the homesteads). A team comprising of 10 researchers (1 team leader and 9 enumerators) was responsible for data collection in each respective ward. The ten researchers would allocate each other specific areas of the ward for the two days of data collection. Therefore, a representative coverage of the wards was met.

2.2       Sample size

Initially, CHRA wanted to visit each and every homestead to establish the true extend to which the “Operation Murambatsvina” had affected households. However, due to the lack of manpower and resources for this exercise only a third of the homesteads were visited in the affected wards. This is a statistically significant proportion of the communities to make sound inferences about the general population. Consequently, at least 500 homesteads per ward were visited during the exercise.  

 

2.3       Limitations of the survey

The Operation Restore Order survey has several limitations which must be considered when interpreting and using the results to judge the impact of the Operation. First and foremost, the time frame covering the survey is approximately 2 months after the first documented demolitions. Many changes may take place between the survey data collection, entry and report write-up. Thus there may be real changes taking place that will not be revealed by the household survey alone. For this reason it is important to also consider contextual information as well as qualitative information collected. Additional limitations are captured below were noted by the team:

ü      Survey coverage: Initially, CHRA wanted to collect information possible from all residents in Harare of the affected wards, however, fuel, money, researcher safety and manpower were limiting. The survey therefore only covered the high density housing areas of the city. The Survey did not include Chitungwiza and this remains an area that should be assessed.

ü      Comprehensive information: The information collected in the questionnaire is not comprehensive, due to the debate between coverage (numbers) and in-depth interview (detailed analysis), a compromise was therefore the one third sample. Additional information such as ART, HBC and mobility and migration were all not captured.

ü      Coverage of holding camps: This survey did not take place in the holding camps and informal settlements. 

ü      Delayed implementation of the survey: The first demolitions started on 25 May 2005, and this report is coming out two months after.

ü      The time frame:  Like all studies conducted over a short period of time the final product is a mere snapshot of the bigger picture.  While every effort has been made to paint as accurate a picture as possible of the household impact of the Operation, the representative sample used in this regard is 33.3% of the total number of homesteads in the 26 wards. 

ü      Baseline data and the extent of the impact:  The study is conducted within the context of various views and differing understanding of impact of the Operation and the current situation.  For example, government reports estimates are inconsistent with those of the United Nations - IOM.  In the absence of reliable and consistent baseline data the evaluators were dependent on using a sampling method in capturing as much information as possible and applying this to an agreed understanding of the factors that constitute impact of the Operation. 

ü      Additional Variables:  The study did not capture access to HIV/AIDS quality care and treatment (ART and HBC). The mobility and migratory patterns of affected communities were not captured. The study did not interrogate the cost (in Z$) of the loss in property and livelihoods. There is scope and need for further studies in these areas.

2.4       Data capture and analysis

Immediately after the survey, collected data was entered, cleaned, processed and analyzed in Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).

 

3.         Survey Results

The Harare Operation Murambatsvina Survey represents a unique opportunity to gain insights into the impact of Operation Murambatsvina on communities and households.  This section attempts to give a factual account of the impact Operation Murambatsvina/Restore Order. 

 

3.1        Socio-demographic data of the sampled affected wards in Harare

From the data generated from the survey, 97% (n = 13 712) of homesteads visited in the 26 wards[3] were affected by the Operation in varying proportions and different ways.

 

Table 1:  Sample sizes for selected strata

Strata/Category

Sub-strata

Sample Size (number of HHs)

Overall Population

 

81,995

Total number of households visited

 

14,137

Gender of respondent

Male

7,960 (56%)

Female

6,177 (44%)

Gender of HH Head

Male

8,602 (61%)

Female

5,532 (39%)

Total number affected by the operation[4]

 

13,712 (97%)

 

The average age of the head of household is 41 years, with the youngest reported as 12 years old and the oldest as 89 years old.  Female household heads are slightly older than male household heads, 43 and 39 years old, respectively.  The average size of sampled households is 5.8. 

 

 

Table 2: Marital status of respondents

Marital status

Proportion

Married

59%

Widowed

19%

Separated

4%

Divorced

6%

Single/never married

11%

Table 2 summarizes the marital status of the study population.  The majority (59%) of households are married and 19% are widowed.  Only a small proportion of the households are divorced, separated or single (Table 2). 

 

3.1.1     Vulnerable groups

The following section defines various vulnerable groups important in emergencies and used as variables to disaggregate survey data.  These groups include households hosting orphans, households with chronically ill members, female-headed households, elderly-headed households with no productive-age (18 to 60 years) members, and households headed by minors (less than 18 years) commonly referred to as child headed households. 

 

3.1.1.1   Orphans

Orphans, for the purpose of the study, are defined as children under 18 years of age who have one or more parents deceased.  Orphans have been further classified as those who have one parent deceased and the remaining parent lives in the same household, those who have one parent deceased and the remaining parent lives outside of the same household, and those who have both parents deceased (double orphans). Almost a third (32%) of households surveyed were hosting at least an orphan.  Female-headed households bear much of the burden in caring for orphans, with over forty percent (41%) of their households hosting at least one orphan child, while about 26% of male headed households are doing the same. It is well documented in Africa that there is a greater probability in women headed households hosting orphans compared to male headed households. This not only creates extra load on women but also limits the amount of time dedicated to other survival needs. 

 

3.1.1.2  Chronically Ill, mentally ill and physically challenged

Another vulnerable group are chronically ill members, physically challenged and mentally ill. Chronically ill individuals, for the purposes of the study, are those who have been ill for three months or longer prior to the study.  This would include individuals with HIV/AIDS, and other long-term illnesses. Chronically ill individuals were present in 13% of households surveyed.  However, this may be an underestimation due to stigma still attached to HIV/AIDS. Furthermore, due to the sensitivity and confidentiality of the information this survey did not exhaustively explore HIV/AIDS even though it is of great importance. Chronic illness in Zimbabwe is largely an HIV/AIDS issue, and to some degree it is used by in this study as a proxy for HIV/AIDS. More detailed figures are presented in Table 3, below for several strata.  Chronically ill individuals comprise the majority of the vulnerable in this category.  Almost 13% of households include at least one chronically ill individual, while 6% include at least mentally/physically challenged person. 

 

There is a small but significant difference between the percentages of chronically ill found in male- and female-headed households.  There is no difference, however, in the number of disabled individuals between the two household types. 

 


Table 3:  Percent of households with chronically ill and mentally/physically challenged persons

Category

Chronically Ill Individuals

Mentally/physically challenged individuals

% of households

General Population

13

6

Male-headed households

11

5

Female-headed households

15

6

 

 

3.1.1.3  Elderly headed households

Approximately 12% of household heads surveyed in the study are above 60 years. There were more male heads of households compared to female heads (62% vs. 38%, respectively). The mean age of elderly headed households was 68 years (with a range of 60 to 89 years).

 

3.1.1.4  Child headed households

Only 1% (142) of total homesteads visited were headed by children (below 18 years). The youngest household head recorded was 12 years with a mean age of 15 years. Of the 1% noted, 62% were headed by girls and the remainder by boys.

 

3.1.1.5  Women headed households

Close to half (44%) of the homestead visited were female headed households (of these 14% were widows). Information pertaining to this category has been captured earlier.  The mean size of households was almost the same for female headed households compared to male headed households (5.7 and 5.8, respectively).

 

3.1.1.6  Multiple vulnerability

 

Table 4: Vulnerability categories

Category

Proportions in vulnerable categories

Category 1

15%

Category 2

31%

Category 3

39%

Category 4

11%

Category 5

4%

Any particular household can be in from none to all five of the vulnerable household categories above (this is refereed to as multiple vulnerability categories or compound vulnerability).  For example, an elderly female head of household with chronically ill household members and hosting orphans would be in all four categories.  Likewise, a 45 year old male-headed household with no orphans or chronically ill members would not appear in any of the vulnerable categories.  Households, whose head is young, for example under 16 years of age, are also vulnerable. Therefore, the report explores this aspect and tries to explicitly show multiple vulnerability and the categories. Table depicts the vulnerable categories that most households fall into from the sample. Information gathered shows that women headed households and child headed households are more likely to fall into two or more other vulnerable categories. This clearly demonstrates that these two strata probably felt most of the impact of the Operation.  

 

3.1.1.6  Education

The pooled Harare data set provides a rare opportunity to explore school attendance and dropout rates for areas affected by the Operation. Education is a good measure of the vulnerability primarily of children and secondarily for the family. School attendance in Zimbabwe is normally high. It is unfortunate that detailed information pertaining to age categories and grades was not collected to give a clear representation of the impact of the Operation. However, from the information solicited from the respondents, some clear observations are made. Out of 14,137 sampled households, 22% of them reported that children were not attending school as a direct result of the Operation Murambatsvina/Restore Order. Children in women headed households seem to have been affected slightly more compared to male headed households with 24% versus 20%, respectively. Furthermore, worryingly, was the increased incidence rate in non attendance rates for households hosting orphans against those not hosting orphans (40% vs. 14%).

 

3.2       Livelihoods

Currently, Zimbabwe is facing its worst economic crisis. Consequently unemployment is estimated at above 70%. The respondents were asked what their primary source of income was before the Operation. Secondary information suggests that the Operation has had an adverse effect on the livelihoods.

 

A majority (73%) of urban dwellers were engaged in informal trading[5] prior to Operation Murambatvsina/Restore Order from the sample. Households derive income from a number of different sources.  Figure 1 shows the proportion of households in the survey and their primary sources of income prior to the Operation. The primary sources of livelihood that have were cited to have been disrupted (73%) as a result of the Operation from the sample include: tuck shop ownership (9%), flea market (11%), fruit and vegetable vending (17%), offering accommodation (18%), cross border trader (6%) and petty trade (5%) such as sale of firewood. It is approximately 2 months since the Operation commenced and to date individuals are still waiting for police clearance, operating licenses from council, the construction and allocation of vending stalls. Considering that informal trading contributions towards the family are not large, one wonders how these people are currently managing with no income for the past two months in such a hype-inflationary country.

 

Figure 1: Livelihoods before the Operation

A further in depth analysis reveals that a majority of the respondents in the 5 vulnerable categories, primary source on income lies in the informal sector (range 91% - 100%). This gives credence to the claims that the Operation has had massive negative impact on families that were relying on informal trading as a livelihood. Moreover, considering these would naturally have high dependency ratios (, fewer coping strategies access to social protection and safety nets. Income sources vary somewhat by strata (Table 5).  Male and female-headed households vary most in the percentage that receive income from the formal sector (18% vs. 9%).  Households with chronically ill members mimic closely the general population, while households hosting orphans rely less on formal employment, slightly more on vending and petty trade.

 

 

 

Table 5: Proportions who were engaged informal and formal sectors

Strata

Informal sector

Formal sector

Female headed households

91%

9%

Child headed households

100%

0%

Households hosting orphans

92%

8%

Households hosting chronically ill members

91%

9%

Households hosting mentally/physically challenged persons

91%

9%

3.3       Impact of Operation at household level

As already highlighted, the impact of the operation has cut across a wide spectrum of households and age groups. However, the impact is generally the same - negative. The extent to which a households or communities were affected has not been quantified. Scant, inconsistent and at times conflicting information is available on this issue. Therefore as one of the key findings of the survey, it was to explore and detail what it is that households lost during the exercise. The areas investigated include; shelter, source of income, education for children, loss of property (apart from shelter), deterioration of health, food security, household safety and security, disruption of family unit, women status and dignity, increased vulnerability for children, orphans and women as well as the psychological (trauma) effect on the family. These are discussed below:

 

3.3.1     Shelter

A majority (76%) of respondents reported that they had lost shelter. Loss of shelter was two fold 1) a tenant being evicted as a result of demolitions, 2) a land lord losing a section of his home as a result of the demolitions. It becomes apparent that the increased demand for accommodation net effect is the escalation in the cost of accommodation and over crowding in the “legitimate” structures. It can be argued that this will form the foundation for increased incidences of communicable diseases and the destruction of the social fabric as some enumerators reported cases where women and men shared a room. From the analysis no differences were noted for the other vulnerable categories apart from the households headed by women and children in terms of impact.

 

3.3.2    Source of income

Overall, 79% of interviewed households reported that they had lost their sources of income. The most probable source of income includes those already highlighted above on the primary sources of income. This figure is similar to the 73% that had lost sources of income (livelihoods) as a direct result of the Operation. The increase may be attributable to multiple sources of income that households are engaged in to ameliorate vulnerability. Strikingly this generally affected all households in the same proportion. 

 

3.3.3    Education for children

The welfare of children especially in terms of their ability to attend school is a basic fundamental right, was affected by the operation. School drop out was reported to be 22%. However, 45% of households interviewed reported that they were at a precarious position in funding and accessing schools for their children, currently and in future. This may be a clear indication on the future prospects of school enrolment for children in the near future. Reasons attributable to this may be due to the destruction of livelihoods and the preoccupation that members of communities find themselves in meeting survival strategies. Households hosting orphans and female headed households according to the survey results were more likely to cite this as one aspect affected by the operation.   

3.3.4    Property

During the Operation, property was lost as security of household property was compromised, breakage of property as a direct result of the demolitions, property seized by the police and council police. Furthermore, some artisans sold tools and products at give away prices in order to minimize losses as a result of the Operation. Forty five percent (45%) of homesteads visited reported that they had incurred losses of property. Unfortunately, the survey was not able to quantify in Zimbabwean dollar value what it was exactly the affected communities had lost and also the nature of the property. However, based on the figure quoted, this clearly demonstrates that the affected communities’ had lost a lot of property. Generally, households assets are used as a source of revenue in extreme cases, now with the loss of property, this can only mean that household security and safety needs had been reduced. Nonetheless no apparent difference was noted for the type of household and the vulnerability category in this respect.

 

3.3.5    Deterioration in health

The well being of the community is one important indicator of social wellbeing. And as such the survey explored how individuals had coped health wise, after Operation Murambatsvina. It is sad to note that slightly over 20% of people interviewed, attributed the deterioration of health of their loved ones as a direct result of the operation. Moreso considering the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe, it would be safe to assume that individuals who were receiving medication (ARTs) and support (food, counselling) had lost these services as a result of the Operation. Furthermore, as already stated above, those with livelihoods that have been destroyed may not be able to meet their dietary requirements resulting in the increased deterioration of their health.

 

3.3.6    Food security

Food security has four pillars, namely; access, availability, utilization and affordability. Approximately, 60% of households sampled claimed that they had become food insecure as a consequence of the Operation. Being urban areas, most of the food supply to the family is sourced from the market. Little or no food finds its way from the rural areas if a family has rural linkages exists. With the continued escalation in the cost of basic commodities especially food in the country with the simultaneous destruction of livelihoods, communities have increasing become food insecure. 

 

3.3.7    Household safety and security

Household safety and security was defined as the family ability to protect and safe guard its assets (physical) and from exploitation. Almost half (49%) of the homesteads reported that this indicator had been compromised as a result of the operation. Reasons attributed may be the influx of unemployed people as a result of the Operation. Furthermore, in Mbare some households were living in the open adjacent to Mbare Bus Terminus (wards 12, 3, and 4). Reasons cited for this were 1) inability to secure alternative accommodation because of the scarcity and cost, 2) shortage of buses to ferry displaced people to their rural areas, 3) in ability to secure bus fares and 4)   people who had nowhere to go.

 

3.3.8    Disruption of the family unit

Housing waiting list runs into hundreds of thousands in Harare and all other urban areas in Zimbabwe. Sharing of homesteads and extension of houses was a way in which Harareans sought to mitigate the accommodation problem. The Operation destroyed structures that were deemed as illegal in Harare’s high density areas. More than three quarters (3/4) of the respondents reported losing shelter. If this is the case, due to the strain and the exorbitant rental rates that the landlords charge, the family unit is exposed to further economic strain. It worrying to note that over 40% of homesteads visited reported that family units had been disrupted as a result of the operation. Mostly children and spouses had been relocated back to the rural homesteads if this was plausible.

 

3.3.9    Women status and dignity

Humiliation and loss of dignity as a direct result of the operation was also reported. Prior to the demolition exercise, it is reported and accounted by respondents that the authorities would move around marking what they deemed as illegal structures using paint. The marked buildings were to be destroyed. Such actions resemble a war situation. Therefore, naturally, women primarily as custodians of the family, were victims of such draconian measures. This is witnessed by 39% of the interviewed homesteads claiming that they had lost their dignity as a result of the Operation.

 

3.3.10   Increased vulnerability for children, orphans and women

In a disaster (natural or man made in this case) children and women are more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. It is saddening to note that 37% of the interviewed homesteads acknowledged that women and children had become more vulnerable to abuse as a consequence of the Operation. Furthermore, a high proportion of the these were from female-headed households. A major problem that normally ensues is sexual exploitation as women try to fend for children. As earlier highlighted, the majority of child headed households are girls. This not only reinforces the earlier statement that they are increasingly becoming vulnerable.  

 

3.3.11   Psychologically affected (traumatized)

The operation was swiftly implemented without prior warning in most wards. Heavy machinery such as bull dozers and trucks were rolled out. To complement this armed police and riot personnel participated in the Operation. The scale of the Operation in some instances resembled a war situation. As a result almost 40% of respondents interviewed claimed that they had been traumatized by the graphic, detailed and heavy handedness of the implementers of the Operations. From the analysis done, this was generally the same across board. Despite the low proportion of child headed households, this seemed to be reported in 82% of child headed households.

 

3.4       Coping mechanisms being employed by affected communities

Coping mechanisms are behavioural changes made at household level to adjust to unexpected and expected shocks. It becomes extremely prudent to establish how households are coping as a result of the sheer magnitude of the operation. Coping mechanisms employed paint a good picture on the vulnerability status of the affected communities. Currently, only 37% households reported that they were using their own resources to sustain the family. A further 22% claimed to be getting assistance from relatives, whilst government, community based organizations and non-governmental organizations accounted for a mere 6% (see Figure 2). More importantly is the realization that 35% of households were not receiving any assistance at all and described themselves as not managing the situation at all. In this bracket, the majority were child- and women headed households accounting for 76% of the responses. This proportion is in urgent need of assistance, whilst those that are being supported by relative may not be in immediate need, will require help in the near future, since relatives’ support may be temporary and stretched as these find themselves in the same predicament.

 

 

Figure 2. Coping mechanisms being employed by communities

 

3.5       Assistance currently being received by affected areas

Of those that reported receiving assistance from the various sources, the following categories are the nature of assistance being received; food (17%), shelter (15%), monetary (8%), education for children (7%), relocation (5%), psycho-social support (5%) and legal help (4%). This clearly suggests that there are major gaps in the support that is being offered to the communities.

 

3.6       Perceived assistance required by communities

 

Table 6: Proportion of assistance required

Area of need

Proportion (%)

Shelter

73%

Food

83%

Compensation

50%

Relocation

45%

Education

56%

Legal help

4%

Monetary (financial help)

74%

Psycho-social support

42%

As follow up question, respondents were asked on assistance they felt were areas of need that had arisen as a result of the operation. Table clearly demonstrates the areas that when cited by respondents. From the preceding paragraphs, it has been documented that major support gaps are in existence in the 26 wards. Therefore, the study sought to establish the communities perceptions as areas of immediate need for survival. This tie in with the emerging issues captured in this report. 73% of surveyed homesteads require shelter, 83% require food and a further 74% require money. Education for children and psycho-social counselling had 56% and 42%, respectively. Close to half the respondents (45%) required to be assisted in relocation, whilst half of the interviewed homesteads required compensation for lost property.

 


4.         RECOMMENDATIONS

The range of recommendations presented in the report is mentioned in summary form below.  These are aimed at those involved and responding to the crisis. Policy analysis is urgent and will be subsequent to this report.

 

General Recommendations:-

 

  1. There is urgent need to resolve the accommodation/ shelter question for all affected families.
  2. Urgent restoration of livelihoods for affected families should be prioritised to ensure recovery and long term sustainability of income for affected communities.
  3. There is urgent need to grant and guarantee access to appropriate treatment and quality care for people living with HIV/AIDS.
  4. There is urgent need to conduct an in-depth national survey to better inform responses and to develop a commonly agreed national data set of the current situation.
  5. There is urgent need to scale up the national response and meet the needs of the affected families.
  6. There is need to consolidate the different coordination processes and ensure the meaningful sharing of information and activities by all stakeholders involved.
  7. Need for urgent donor commitment for additional support to affected communities.
  8. Urgent need to create awareness on the impact, extent and effects of the operation on affected communities.

 


            5.         Appendices 

 

5.1 Questionnaire used in the survey

 

 

 

 

 

 

Questionnaire ID:     

                                        Prov         District    Ward        Household

 

 
Province:                   HARARE                                                                       0   1  

                                                                                                                            

Suburb/District:       HARARE                                                                      0    1

Ward Name:                                                            Ward Number:

 


Household number:

 


Date of interview:                                                              0    5

                                                              Day           Month       Year

Name of Enumerator:

Name of Supervisor:

Name of Data Entry Clerk:

 

Name of the respondent: First name:                                             Surname:                                              

Sex of respondent:                                        1 = male    2 = female

Physical address:

What is your nationality?

What is your citizenship?

When were you affected by Operation Murambatsvina?                                                    0    5

                                                                                                    Day           Month       Year

 

HOUSEHOLD DEMOGRAPHICS

1.

How old is the household head?

        years

2.

What is the sex of the household head?

1 = male    2 = female

3.

Marital status of household head?

Married……………….….1

Widowed ………… ….….2

Separated…………………3

Divorced…………………4

Single/never married…….5

4.

Total number of household members

     members

5.

How many are:

Age range

Male

Female

Below 18 years (0-17 years)

Between 18 and 59 years

Above 60 years

6.

Are there any chronically ill members in your household? (a person who has been ill for more than 3 months with HIV/AIDS continuously)

1 = Yes               2 = No

7.

If yes, how many?

                       99 = NA

8.

Are there any orphans in your household? (Circle 1)

1 = Yes                2 = No

9.

If yes, how many?

                                99 = NA

10.

Are there any children below 18 years not attending school? (Circle 1)

1 = Yes                2 = No

11.

If yes, how many?

                           99 = NA    

12.

Are there any mentally/physically challenged members in your household?

1 = Yes                2 = No

13

If yes, how many?

                                       99 = NA

 

Livelihoods

14.

What was this household’s primary source of income before Operation Murambatsvina? (Codes below)

Codes for 14

1 = remittance

2 = flea market

3 = tuck-shop

4 = fruit and vegetable sales (vending)

5 = skilled trade/artisan (e.g. carpenter)

6 = formal salary wages

7 = offering accommodation

8 = petty trade (freezit, sweets etc)

9 = cross border trader

10 = begging, gifts, donations

11 = no source of income

88 = other (specify --------------)

 

15.

How was your household affected by the Operation? (Prompt all answers)

  1. Lost shelter

1 = Yes                2 = No

  1. Source of income

1 = Yes                2 = No

  1. Education for children

1 = Yes                2 = No

  1. Property

1 = Yes                2 = No

  1. Deterioration in health (AIDS/HIV)

1 = Yes                2 = No

  1. Food security

1 = Yes                2 = No

  1. Household safety and security

1 = Yes                2 = No

  1. Disruption of family unit

1 = Yes                2 = No

  1. Women status and dignity

1 = Yes                2 = No

  1. Increased vulnerability for children, orphans and women

1 = Yes                2 = No

16.

How is the family currently managing? (Circle all responses)

1 = own resources

2 = relatives support

3 = aid agency (NGOs)

4 = government support

5 = community based organisations

6 = not managing at all

88 = others specify (…………………..…………..)

 

Assistance

17.

What assistance are you getting? (Circle all responses)

  1. Shelter

1 = Yes            2 = No

  1. Food

1 = Yes           2 = No

  1. Compensation

1 = Yes           2 = No

  1. Relocation

1 = Yes           2 = No

  1. Education for children

1 = Yes           2 = No

  1. Legal help

1 = Yes           2 = No

  1. Monetary (financial help)

1 = Yes           2 = No

  1. Others specify (……………………………………………..)

18.

What assistance do you require? (Prompt all responses)

  1. Shelter

1 = Yes            2 = No

  1. Food

1 = Yes           2 = No

  1. Compensation

1 = Yes           2 = No

  1. Relocation

1 = Yes           2 = No

  1. Education for children

1 = Yes           2 = No

  1. Legal help

1 = Yes           2 = No

  1. Monetary (financial help)

1 = Yes           2 = No

  1. Others specify (……………………………………………..)

 

 

 

 

 


5.2              Wards visited and Questionnaires administered

Ward Name

Ward Number

Number of Homesteads Visited

  1. Mbare (Matapi)

3

552

  1. Mbare (Matererine)

4

505

  1. Sunningdale

10

530

  1. Southerton

11

539

  1. Mbare (National)

12

593

  1. Rugare

13

526

  1. Kambuzuma section 1

14

560

  1. Dzvivarasekwa 1

15

576

  1. Old Mabvuku

19

522

  1. New Tafara

20

520

  1. New Mabvuku

21

520

  1. Highfield (Egypt)

24

572

  1. Highfield (Lusaka)

25

549

  1. Highfield (Jerusalem)

26

523

  1. Glen Norah A

28

569

  1. Glen Norah C

29

594

  1. Glen View 8

30

570

  1. Glen View 1

31

503

  1. Glen View

32

526

  1. Budiriro 1

33

576

  1. Mufakose 1

34

524

  1. Mufakose 2

35

518

  1. Mufakose 3

36

520

  1. Warren Park D

37

602

  1. Hatcliff

42

513

  1. Budiriro

43

513

Total

14,137

 



[1] Informal trading includes; flea market, tuck shop, vending, skilled/artisan, offering accommodation, and petty trade.

[2]

[3] Matapi; Matererine Flat; National Mbare; Sunnidale; Southerton; Kambuzuma 2; Kambuzuma 6; Dzvirasekwa; New and Old Mabvuku; New and Old Tafara Egypt, Lusaka, Jerusalem Highfields; Glen Norah; Glen Norah C; Glenview 1; Glenview 2; Budirio 1; Budirio 2; Mufakose 1; Mufakose 2; Mufakose 3; Warren Park D; and Hatcliff

[4] Affected means 1) demolished structures at homesteads, lost shelter, lost livelihood and children not attending school.

[5] Informal trading includes; flea market, tuck shop, vending, skilled/artisan, offering accommodation, and petty trade.

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