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| That's unfair: Moyenda |
There will be no compensation for Soche Hill encroachers earmarked for relocation to South Lunzu because they were doing it deliberately, Blantyre City Council (BCC) director of Town Planning and Estate Services Costly Chanza disclosed Thursday.
But the illegal residents have asked the city fathers to reverse their decision if they do not want to experience some hassles during the relocation exercise.
BCC together with its stakeholders namely Blantyre Water Board (BWB), Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM), MHC, and Centre for Community Organization Development (CCODE), Surveyor General, Forestry Department, Ministry of Lands, Physical Planning and Urban Development intends to relocate some households living in Soche Hill because the place is fragile and unfit for human settlement.
At the meeting held on 18 November last year, various stakeholders including chiefs from the targeted area resolved that the Council should demolish all the illegal settlements and relocate encroachers to Lunzu before end this year.
While most of the affected households were hoping to capitalize on the exercise, possibly, it is time they forgot because the council will not compensate anyone “because those people knew they were buying an illegal land” and compensating them would be encouraging people to squat.
“It’s just out of humanity that we’re allocating them land to build houses. In a normal case, we’re supposed to just demolish their structures without allocating another alternative place to live. They’re aware of this,” explained Chanza.
The council is, however, uncertain on the exact number of households that will be affected by the exercise.
But the director dismissed reports that the exercise will affect all the Soche Hill residents saying "the council will regularize some of the building structures".
“Some land will be regularized without eviction. However, we would like to warn the small chiefs who are involved in illegal sales of land to stop the malpractice forthwith. Soche has a number of small chiefs who are culprits in the illegal sales and allocation of land to new comers,” said Chanza.
Besides the "small chiefs", the Town Planning and Estates Services boss blamed the power and water utility providers, ESCOM and BWB, for contributing significantly to squatting by providing services to people without "seeking consent from the city authorities".
"These are fragile areas; people are not supposed to build. Therefore, we expect ESCOM and BWB not to provide services in such areas to avoid encouraging squatting," Chanza emphasized.
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| One of the houses earmarked for demolition |
"In the event that these natural disasters have occured, rocks can roll down and cause damage. That is why government wants to relocate the Soche settlers to South Lunzu," said Tukula.
"We are only trying to protect them," he added.
One of the earmarked residents, Chrissie Moyenda, said while they have no problem complying with the city’s by-laws on relocation, they feel what the authorities are planning to do is to infringe upon their rights as poor citizens.
“Have they built the houses already or they are going to build while we are there? If we’re going to be allocated a bare ground, then relocation will prove difficult for us,” said Moyenda.
When told the city is not obliged to compensate them since they were living on an illegal land, the resident countered saying even if that is the case a starter pack was needed for the relocated.
“Who is going to pay for our rent there while we’re moulding bricks? No! This is very unfair. They’ve to pay us something. Otherwise we will have problems to move,” she added.
Another resident, Masa Magombo, said he needed time to think on what course of action he should take against the city authorities.
“This isn’t what we expected. I can’t say what I will do in retaliation to what they are saying now. But certainly, I will do something; I can’t just go without some compensation,” said Magombo.
END
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