Operation Murambatsvina
[1] Robert Mugabe and other government officials characterised the operation as a crackdown against illegal housing and commercial activities, and as an effort to reduce the risk of the spread of infectious disease in these areas.
The crackdown has affected most of the major cities in the country, and the Zimbabwean government has stated its intention to widen the operation to include rural farming areas.
A report written by Anna Tibaijuka, the executive director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, was handed to the Zimbabwean government on 21 July 2005.
[7] Excerpts from the report, which calls for all demolitions to be stopped immediately,[1] were made public the following day and describe the operation as a "disastrous venture" which has violated international law and led to a serious humanitarian crisis.
"[9] The Zimbabwean Police Commissioner, Augustine Chihuri, said that Operation Murambatsvina was meant to "clean the country of the crawling mass of maggots bent on destroying the economy.
[11] People whose homes have been demolished are being told to return to the rural areas or face further action from the Zimbabwe Republic Police and the dreaded Central Intelligence Organization.
After a demonstration staged by the urban population against the Zimbabwe Government, an order was given to the municipalities to mirror the 'tsunami' operation that saw many demolitions taking place in January 2019, leaving many people destitute.
[13] Science and Technology Deputy Minister Patrick Zhuwawo used state media to say that the government had demarcated nearly 10,000 residential stands at Whitecliff Farm for allocation to what he called "deserving people".
Human rights advocate and outspoken government critic, Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube publicly called for a peaceful uprising before the elections, claiming they had already been fixed.
[17] The Sunday Times reported that, by dispersing MDC supporters to remote rural locations, the ZANU-PF government would find it easier to control an angry population in the event of possible riots or mass protests.
They point to the fact that the government faces an unprecedented economic crisis of fuel and food shortages, rampant hyperinflation, and virtually no foreign currency.
In other words, Operation Murambatsvina may have been less motivated by fear of protests immediately following the elections (which were manageable by a politicised police and army), instead aiming to control the population after heavy-handed measures were dispensed with: It is predicated on the observation that the greatest risk to repressive governments comes when they seek to liberalise.
[21] In the early 2000s, Zimbabwe fought to keep control of the foreign currency market by adopting a range of measures, usually spearheaded by Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono.
The Age, an Australian newspaper, reported on how informal vendors at one market, dubbed "The World Bank", maintains a façade of trading goods when their real business is dealing in hard cash, albeit very small amounts at a time.
A report co-authored by Archbishop Ncube stated that: Speculation over the motives behind Operation Murambatsvina has pointed to the removal of local competition threatening newly arrived Chinese businessmen whose stores sell cheap and often poor quality goods.
[28][29]As well as practical support of Chinese business interests, many have suggested that Operation Murambatsvina also demonstrates an adherence to a 'Look East' ideology and is evidence that Zanu-PF has embraced an Asian model of government where individual rights are often subverted for the good of the masses, or the regime.
[36][37] The other known literature figure who hand penned the happenings of the era is a young poet and script writer, Poseidon Tsautsau who wrote his poem:The Uncaring father, who should care.
Kate Hoey MP called on former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to encourage South Africa to use its regional influence to put pressure on Zimbabwean authorities to cease the crackdown.
The executive summary stated: Operation Restore Order, while purporting to target illegal dwellings and structures and to clamp down on alleged illicit activities, was carried out in an indiscriminate and unjustified manner, with indifference to human suffering, and, in repeated cases, with disregard to several provisions of national and international legal frameworks.On 23 May 2007 the Geneva-based Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions and another group, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, sought independent legal opinion.
