Inadequate housing in Harare urban: a cause of human insecurity (2010-2018)

Abstract

Zimbabwe is a signatory to the 1948 UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 25 of this declaration provides for the right to a standard of living which permit for the health and well-being of citizens including adequate housing. The importance of housing was reaffirmed in 1996 at a UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), held in Istanbul where governments committed themselves to full and progressive realisation of the right to adequate housing for every citizen regardless of their socioeconomic status. This commitment resonates well with the concept of human security as outlined in the UNDP Report of 1994 and its subsequent reports. The report considers human security as entailing freedom from ‘fear’ and ‘want’. These pillars of human security cannot be achieved in a situation where most people are not adequately housed as is the case in Harare. This study sort to explore the impact of inadequate housing on human security for Harare residents for the period 2010 to 2018. Qualitative research methodologies were applied to understand the impact of inadequate housing on human security. The study focused on housing issues affecting the health, environmental and personal security of residents of Mbare, Epworth and Hopley. Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were used to collect data from a gender balanced sample of 37 participants. The researcher also conducted in situ observations to gain first-hand information on the housing problems affecting human security in the three residential areas. The data was analysed in thematic form and presented in thick descriptions and images to validate narratives drawn from participants. The study established that human security for residents of the three areas was under threat as a result of lack of sanitation services, overcrowding, poor waste management, lack of clean water, inhabitable shelters, crime and generalised disorder among other housing related problems. To provide adequate housing as a way to obtain human security, the study recommended the redevelopment, regeneration and upgrading of the existing housing stock in Mbare as well as regularisation of informal settlements in Epworth and Hopley. Strict enforcement of city by-laws was viewed as a panacea to the problem of informal settlements. The study also recommends the provision of affordable housing through public private partnerships to cater for the housing needs for all residents regardless of their socioeconomic statuses.