HARARE —HARARE City Council (HCC) is under growing legal pressure over its controversial approval of cluster housing projects, with a series of High Court cases exposing alleged corruption, procedural irregularities, and backdoor land deals in the capital’s upmarket suburbs.
The local authority is at loggerheads with residents who are rejecting the construction of cluster houses, fearing that the development will transform the once elitist neighbourhoods into densely populated areas, eroding their elite status.
The projects, which Harare says are under the local authority’s adopted densification policy, are currently underway in posh suburbs like Borrowdale, Mount Pleasant, Chisipite, Greendale, and Highlands, among others, with massive constructions already in progress.
Truth Diggers, an Alpha Media Holdings investigative unit, in partnership with Information for Development Trust, a non-profit organisation supporting investigative reporting, observed that property developments are underway on plots measuring from 2000 square meters.
Residents have expressed concern about dozens of classified adverts in local newspapers with notices of land acquisitions and construction permits, many of them for high-density housing projects that they claim are in contrast with the area’s low-rise, single-family nature.
Legal experts say most of the ongoing disputes stem from alleged violations of the Regional, Town and Country Planning Act (Chapter 29:12), particularly Section 19, which provides for public objections to proposed land developments.
The section stipulates that local authorities must give reasonable public notice and allow affected residents an opportunity to raise objections before approving land development projects.
Residents argue that the Harare City Council and land developers are bypassing these procedures.
Residents argue that while the development will bring more housing, it also means a significant population increase, yet there is no corresponding plan to improve utilities and infrastructure, such as roads, water, and electricity, which they fear will exacerbate existing challenges and further strain resources.
Court battles mount over cluster housing and urban development projects
The city’s aggressive push for densification and commercial redevelopment has increasingly found itself under legal fire, as residents and take both developers and the Harare City Council to court for allegedly violating planning laws and threatening neighbourhood status.
In the latest blow to the city’s urban planning department, High Court Judge Justice Paul Musithu on April 4, 2025 declared unlawful a cluster housing project in Greystone Park, ruling that the developer, Dashway Investments, had commenced construction without an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) certificate or Development Permit.
Source: NewsHub Zimbabwe
Source: NewsHub Zimbabwe
