18 Zimbabwe: No justice for the victims of forced evictions In order to access Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle housing people must pay a deposit. In May 2006 this was reported to be between 3 and 12 million Zimbabwe dollars (figures quoted for deposits have risen several times due to the extremely high rate of inflation but this was equivalent to US$30 - 120), and thereafter pay monthly amounts for periods of 25 - 30 years after which they acquire title to the property. Currently 83 per cent of the population of Zimbabwe survives on less than the UN income poverty line of US$2 a day.53 Inflation is running at more than 1000 per cent with food inflation reported to be even higher. What money poor people have is mainly used for food. Although relatively small, the amounts demanded for deposits would have been beyond the reach of most Operation Murambatsvina victims even before the mass forced evictions. At many of the Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle schemes proof of income is required. At Gweru where a total of 106 houses were reported to be at various stages of construction, the Parliamentary Committee investigating Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle found that 14 houses were occupied and were told that the beneficiaries were victims of Operation Murambatsvina and persons on the Council’s waiting list who were capable of paying rentals for the houses. The parliamentarians were told that: “even those not in formal employment could benefit from the houses built under Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle so long as they could prove they had a source of income”. Operation Murambatsvina involved the destruction of tens of thousands of informal livelihoods, in a country which already had an estimated 80 per cent formal unemployment. Many of those who lost homes also lost their livelihoods. The irony of requiring proof of income from those whose livelihoods it destroyed underlines the absence of any meaningful government commitment to restoring human rights through Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle. In Chipinge Amnesty International visited Gaza New Stands where scores of families were forcibly evicted during Operation Murambatsvina. They were allegedly evicted because their houses – largely built of wood, on stands they had been allocated, some as far back as 1970s – were not of the standard required by law.54 After spending three months living on the site of their destroyed houses in the cold and rain, the community finally persuaded the local authorities to allow them to rebuild their wooden structures. Meanwhile approximately 50 Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle houses have been constructed nearby. At the time of Amnesty International’s visit these houses were incomplete and most were uninhabited. A number of Operation Murambatsvina victims from Gaza were reportedly offered the new houses but were told they had to pay a Z$6 million (US$60) fee on acceptance and a monthly amount of Z$1 million (US$10) for 25 years. The majority are unable to afford this. They have also been told that if they move from their current stands, for which they or their families have paid in many cases, they lose their right to it, reportedly without compensation. 53 UNDP, Human Development Report 2005, p 228. Report of the Fact-Finding Mission to Zimbabwe to assess the Scope and Impact of Operation Murambatsvina by the UN Special Envoy on Human Settlement Issues in Zimbabwe, 22 July 2005, p 25. The UN Special Envoy on Human Settlements in Zimbabwe criticised the government of Zimbabwe’s implementation of colonial era legislation which reflects unrealistically high housing standards. 54 Amnesty International 8 September 2006 AI Index: AFR 46/005/2006