Allegations of corrupt land allocations have rocked the City of Harare's Housing Department following the irregular sale of 31 residential stands on a gazetted wetland in Marlborough.

The stands are located at the corner of Taormina Avenue and Newstead Road, next to the Marlborough sewer ponds. Construction has already started.

Following public outcry, the Zimbabwe Wetlands Trust held a situational meeting at the site attended by various stakeholders.

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Speaking at the meeting, Ward 41 Councilor, Kudzai Kadzombe expressed concern over corrupt land allocations and the continued invasion of wetlands.

"When the matter was first brought before council, I raised several anomalies, including the fact that the area is a gazetted wetland and is also close to sewer ponds," Kadzombe said.

She said arrangements had been made for the Town Planning and Housing Departments to visit the site for a feasibility study, but this was not done.

"Later, I learnt with shock after the District office informed me that beneficiaries of the residential stands had already made payments," she said.

"This is in contravention of the Urban Councils Act and the Regional Town and Country Planning Act.

"It's shocking that the law makers have become the law breakers. We need the Housing Department to tell us how they did the allocations when we don't have a permit and the Environmental Management Agency has confirmed that there is no Environmental Impact Assesment. It's quite sad because at the moment Zimbabwe leads the Ramsar Convention and if we are not honoring what we signed for as a nation, we are setting a bad precedence. I am hoping that we will have another meeting where the Town Planning and Housing Departments can tell us how they allocated these stands on a wetland without permits," said Kadzombe.

A representative from the District Office confirmed that beneficiaries of the land allocations had been given offer letters but said there were no development permits and that no Environmental Impact Assessment was done prior to the allocations.

An official from the City of Harare who spoke on condition of anonymity said the Environmental Department was not consulted over the stand allocations.

"This is an act of corruption and no consultation was done before the stands allocation. We only became aware of it after residents raised concern," said the official.

The Marlborough Environmental Action Group (MEAG) has called for stern measures against the corrupt land allocations.

"Marlborough residents were not consulted during the entire process of allocation of these stands.

We are also querying whether an Environmental Impact Assessment was issued by the Environmental Management Agency. The Environmental Management Act requires that an EIA be conducted before any development. One of the requirements of an EIA is stakeholder consultation and residents, who are critical stakeholders, were not consulted.

With Zimbabwe holding the Presidency of the Ramsar Convention, we should be championing the conservation of wetland ecosystems and not the degradation of these fragile ecosystems. This development is happening next to the Gwebi River and this will impact water supply for Harare," said the organisation.

In June this year, the City of Harare issued a warning to residents against the corrupt sale of residential stands in Marlborough.

"The City of Harare has been made aware of land barons who are criminally selling Council land in Marlborough using fake documents.

We urge members of the public to avoid engaging the criminals. Residents must approach our district offices and Housing Department for further clarifications before losing money to these land barons," read the notice.

City of Harare's Housing Director, Addmore Nhekairo is reportedly at the centre of the controversy.

When reached for a comment, Nhekairo promised to call back bit had not done so at the time of publication.