Zimbabwe: No justice for the victims of forced evictions 21 Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle Committee respectively to construct pit latrines for the Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle housing sites in those municipalities. City officials expressed concern about pit latrines being used in cities, stating that pit latrines are unsuitable for small urban plots. A city worker in Harare confirmed that the Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle site at Whitecliff in Harare is not connected to the city’s water and sewage systems. The official was not aware of any government plans to provide water and sewage infrastructure at this site. Moreover the official pointed out that Harare’s water and sewage systems are already significantly overstretched and without substantial investment would not cope with additional demands. The situation at both the Hopley and Hatcliffe sites in Harare is somewhat different. People at these sites have some access to water and sanitation services provided through the humanitarian interventions of the UN and other humanitarian groups. Levels of access, particularly to sanitation, however, remain inadequate. At Hopley, which has an estimated population of 2,000 households, less than 150 individual household ecological toilets were reported to be completed one year after the camp opened, with plans to construct a further 1,400. The site is also served by approximately 150 communal toilets. Several sources with access to Hopley camp told Amnesty International that, although improved, the sanitation situation remained unsatisfactory.59 The city employee to whom Amnesty International spoke, who had visited Hopley camp, stated: “people still defecate in the bush. There are some [pit latrines] but a 150sq meter stand is too small for a [pit latrine] to be hygienically there.” Not only has the government failed to provide adequate water and sanitation at all Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle sites, but people also face obstacles to engaging in self-help initiatives. In Harare where Housing Cooperatives have tried to provide their own water and sewage solutions, these efforts have been frustrated by what a parliamentary investigating committee described as “exorbitant approval fees” demanded by the City Council. Security of tenure Secure tenure is vital to realising the right to adequate housing. Without security of tenure people are always vulnerable to forced eviction. They may also be reluctant to invest in the improvement of their accommodation for fear of losing their investment without compensation. In its General Comment No. 4, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights lists various types of tenure, including informal settlements, and adds: "[n]otwithstanding the type of tenure, all persons should possess a degree of security of tenure which guarantees legal protection against forced eviction, harassment and other threats. States parties should consequently take immediate measures aimed at conferring legal security of tenure upon those persons and households currently lacking such protection, in genuine consultation with affected persons and groups."60 59 60 Amnesty International interviews with medical experts and humanitarian workers, Harare, May 2006. See CESCR, General Comment No 4, paragraph 8(a). Amnesty International 8 September 2006 AI Index: AFR 46/005/2006