Govt allocates stands at Hopley Farm while displaced victims continue to live outdoors

By Tererai Karimakwenda
09 September 2005

Officials from the ministry of local government were at Hopley Farm outside Harare on Thursday allocating stands to people from various high-density areas who had already filled out applications. The new stands are meant to be given to the displaced victims of Operation Murambatsvina, but our correspondent Simon Muchemwa reports that the applicants who benefited Thursday are not the victims living outdoors at Hopley or other camps, but people who already have stands elsewhere.

Muchemwa said there are suspicions that many of those who were invited to apply are relatives of ZANU-PF chefs. He estimates about 200 applicants showed up Thursday, a good number of them with applications already filled out. The majority were in their mid-twenties.

Although there is some construction taking place at Hopley, Muchemwa said many of the stands were vacant and beneficiaries would need enough money to build within a specified time period. As it is now, the stands have not been serviced and there is no running water. The displaced families being kept at Hopley Farm by the government still have to walk about 2 kilometres to find clean water from the Mukuvisi river near Glen Norah.

Currently, wooden poles supporting asbestos roofs serve as shelter for the families living at Hopley. Some have wrapped plastic around the poles to block the cold winter air and rain. Basically they are living outdoors while the government continues to limit access to them by those wishing to help. Muchemwa said there was a heavy presence of army and police officers on Thursday.