Picking their way through muddy puddles, United Nations envoy Jan Egeland and his team on Monday toured a suburb of the Zimbabwean capital Harare where thousands are living in plastic shacks after being made homeless by the government’s controversial urban clean-up campaign.
Women from Hatcliffe Extension ululated as the UN convoy, accompanied by Zimbabwe government officials, ploughed its way through the wide puddles, as children shouted ”murungu” [white man].
Egeland, the UN’s emergency relief co-ordinator, is on a three-day visit to Zimbabwe to assess the humanitarian situation in the wake of Operation Murambatsvina, which left an estimated 700 000 homeless and jobless.
Around 8 000 people are living in poverty in Hatcliffe Extension. Many had their homes razed by police in June, but have rebuilt shacks from sheets of plastic and corrugated iron. The area was dotted with unprotected wells and pit latrines surrounded by rough plastic walls.
Egeland did not speak to reporters during his tour of the site.
He was taken to see brick houses that the government has built at the area as part of its ambitious reconstruction programme.
On Sunday Egeland told Zimbabwe’s local government minister Ignatius Chombo to ”help us to help you”, a statement said.
Egeland and Chombo, who was accompanied by three senior officials ”had an open and frank discussion on how the United Nations, non-governmental organisations and other humanitarian partners in Zimbabwe can better support the many people in need of humanitarian assistance, including temporary shelter,” it said.
It said Egeland had emphasised ”the critical role of the government in facilitating the work of humanitarian agencies by asking Minister Chombo to ‘help us to help you’.”
The government of President Robert Mugabe has been accused of not doing enough to help the displaced. But the authorities say a massive housing programme launched in June will see hundreds of thousands of new houses provided for the homeless.
Egeland is due on Monday to visit Hopley Farm, where the government wants to build new houses. On Tuesday he will visit the second city of Bulawayo, before holding talks with Mugabe. – Sapa-DPA