Harare – Two Zimbabwean children died this month after they were crushed by rubble during the demolition of illegal houses in a government clean-up that has made tens of thousands homeless, state media reported on Thursday. Police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena urged residents to be cautious when demolishing their buildings, suggesting the deaths were caused by individuals following orders to pull down their own houses rather than by police demolition crews. The local private media had reported that the police were responsible for the deaths. “We would like to urge those demolishing illegal structures to ensure the safety of everyone,” Bvudzijena told the official Herald newspaper. He was not immediately available for comment on Thursday.The Herald said a one-and-a-half year old child was crushed to death by rubble in Harare”s Chitungwiza township on Sunday while a one-year-old was crushed to death earlier this month in another Harare neighbourhood. Thousands of self-employed people have seen their informal shops demolished and goods confiscated in the six-week campaign dubbed “Operation Restore Order” which officials say has also made 120 000 people homeless. Aid groups and non-governmental organisations estimate that at least 300 000 people have been evicted and have joined western governments in demanding its immediate halt.

President Robert Mugabe”s government argues that illegal structures in cities had become a haven for illegal trade in foreign currency and scarce food items. Police have said the operation had reduced crime by a fifth in Harare. The campaign has sparked angry criticism from Zimbabwe”s main opposition party as well as human rights and religious groups, who say it is unfairly targeting the urban poor. The United Nations said it planned to send a special envoy to Zimbabwe to asses the situation. Police on Wednesday shut seven office buildings in central Harare accusing shocked tenants of breaching licensing regulations and overcrowding. In one swoop hundreds of small businesses from dress-making to cellphone traders were left on the street with no income. Some colleges were also closed, leaving desperate students writing their exams in the lurch. Critics say the crackdown has worsened the country”s economic crisis, which has already led to chronic shortages of foreign currency, high inflation and unemployment of over 70 percent. Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in 1980, denies mismanaging the once prosperous economy and says opponents of the land redistribution – which he says is meant to redress colonial land imbalances – have sabotaged Zimbabwe”s economy.

From Reuters, 23 June
Source: WWW.ZwNews.Com