This paper discusses the land struggles of the urban poor in Zimbabwe
and the emerging strategies used by the alliance of the Zimbabwe Homeless
People’s Federation and its partner Dialogue on Shelter to address these struggles
in the face of continued economic and political crisis. The paper looks at how they
are navigating this space and creating new solutions for housing and livelihood
strategies. It considers the recent history of informal settlements and government
measures to control or destroy them, including Operation Murambatsvina in 2005,
which made hundreds of thousands of people homeless. It discusses the pragmatic
decisions regarding partnership with different government agencies that the
alliance has had to make in light of the sustained political and economic crisis,
and the positive responses, especially from some local governments. It suggests
that these decisions and strategies taken at a time of crisis and rapid change should
be seen as part of a longer-term debate that seeks to change the relationship between
communities of the urban poor and the state. Today, the alliance presents
government with an alternative way of dealing with land and housing issues.
Although progress to date has been minimal given the scale of need, there is a
strong basis for partnership that can be scaled up.