Construction taking place in greenbelt council-owned land – Borrowdale, Harare
Phillip Chiyangwa stands as one of Zimbabwe’s largest property developers and recently stated that his empire is worth far more than the speculated US$15 million. This in itself is not a problem, however the Bible-bashing tycoon cannot claim he has made his millions of US dollars from anything but illicit trade.
He is currently on a mission to grab as much land as possible in the urban areas of Harare, most of it State or council land. This is land invasion under a different guise.
The Borrowdale greenbelt council-owned land has been reported as “claimed” by Chiyangwa and he denies any wrongdoing.
The pictures in this post were taken very recently and depict the disputed Borrowdale vlei. The workers camped there claim Phillip Chiyangwa owns the land and they are getting ready to put down boreholes. They could not produce any papers to prove Chiyangwa’s ownership.
This greenbelt is the water catchment for Mazoe dam.
In September this year we wrote about the building boom going on in Harare in a post titled
The fat-cats are busy building before things go bust. We wrote:
On the Borrowdale Road, Targon Construction is busy bulldozing and clearing virgin land to build there. In normal circumstances a billboard would be erected outlining the project, the partners and giving the council details, but no such board is in place.
This land is meant to be designated green belt, but that has never worried the fat cat chefs in our country.
Indeed, this particular bit of green belt is the catchment area for the Mazoe River – development should never be allowed so as to protect this fragile environment, especially considering the dire water conditions in Harare. When the City council valuator was called about the project, he emphatically stated that no permission has been given for it. He claimed that his department had sent a letter denying permission to the developers.
Targo Construction is owned by Supa Mandiwanzira who is apparently being backed by Phillip Chiyangwa.
November 9th, 2009 20:27
It beggars belief what some people will do. No respect for the rest of the population, laws, environment or anything really. All to make a fast buck never mind the cost.
November 10th, 2009 08:50
The name of the construction company is TARCON and NOT Targon or Targo.
The steelwork in the photos reveals that a building is going to be constructed. There were brick delivery lorries on the site yesterday.