The Mbare hostels, which have an estimated population of 70,000 people, are overcrowded and severely dilapidated, and have been declared unfit for human habitation by human rights groups.
Dozens of hostels in Mbare, Zimbabwe's oldest township, have had their power disconnected for non-payment of bills.Fifty-eight hostels in Mbare, Zimbabwe’s oldest and poorest township, have had their power cut off by the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority for failure to pay the bills.
The hostels belong to Harare City Council, and Zesa bills the council instead of the tenants. Hostel residents owe Zesa ZW$10m in unpaid bills.“Council is urging residents of the 58 Mbare hostels to organise themselves and pay for their electricity. The residents have not been paying and were recently disconnected,” the council said.
The Mbare hostels were designed as single quarters for male workers during the colonial period, but now each room houses an average of 10 people. The hostels are dilapidated, with poor sanitation, including no running water. Many toilets have no flushing system and burst sewage pipes.
“We have a comprehensive master plan for the home industries and the Mbare hostels to the extent that wherever we reconstruct a block of flats, there will be swimming pools for children and kindergartens. Mbare will be the first place that we are going to develop in Harare, and those that had relocated to Borrowdale and Mount Pleasant will come back to Mbare,” Chiwenga said.
Initially, the Harare City Council had resolved to demolish the Mbare hostels, citing inhumane living conditions. But that would have left 70,000 people homeless.
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