Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. THE legal battle over Mbare Vocational Training Centres rages on, with the contractor being accused of defying a provisional High Court order stopping the demolition of the college to make way for a new development.
The dispute stems from an urgent High Court application filed by Mbare legislator Martin Sunungukai Matinyaka, together with students Jimmy Fernando, Moses Tambarare and Oliver Vellem.
They are seeking a final order to stop the demolition and redevelopment of the centre, which they argue is being carried out to benefit private interests under the guise of renovation.
The applicants have filed contempt of court allegations, claiming the contractor, Green Gate Engineering and Construction, has continued demolishing despite a court order.
They allege that the ongoing construction is causing disruptive noise and air pollution, making it impossible for students to learn and violating their constitutional rights to education and property.
A representative of Green Gate Engineering, Tonderai Zvarehwa, denied the allegations, though he confirmed that approximately 90% of the demolition had already been done by that time.
“There is no construction work being done at the moment. We have retreated to other projects we were carrying out in other areas,” he said.
“We stopped the construction work on the day we were furnished with the provisional order.
“I am in limbo if I am going to recover my money if the High Court finally stops these developments.”
The new landowner, Private Places Hygiene Eye (trading as Junior Family Business), and the City of Harare have both opposed the application.
They argue that the demolition was lawfully sanctioned by council and that the applicants lacked legal standing and delayed their action despite being aware of the plans since late August.
In his ruling, High Court judge Justice Happius Zhou said the relocation of students constituted “a harm that is not remediable” if the applicants were to eventually succeed in their main case.
The matter is before the High Court.
Reports indicate that the demolition of the only vocational training centre in Mbare has sparked outrage among residents, who see it as robbing the community of a vital youth empowerment opportunity.
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