via Govt secures funds for land audit ZBC Sunday, 16 February 2014 15:06
The Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement has secured more than US$7 million from donors.
The funds, which are going to be administered by the UNDP, are expected to fund the ministry’s two year action plan.
After getting an allocation of only US$10 million in the 2014 national budget, the ministry had shelved plans to carry out a land audit indefinitely.
In an interview with the ZBC News, the Minister of Lands and Rural Resettlement, Dr Douglas Mombeshora revealed that the ministry is now going to embark on a two year programme of action using funds availed by the European Union and the UNDP.
He said the funds amount to over US$7 million and part of the work that will be carried out by the ministry includes a preliminary land audit exercise.
Dr Mombeshora added that part of the funds is going to be channelled towards work that is being done by the Surveyor General’s Office of mapping out new base maps.
The land audit seeks to address various issues, among them land disputes, cases of multiple farm ownership, account for land that is being used productively as well as investigate reports that some resettled farmers are leasing out their farms to white commercial farmers.
COMMENTS
Good one mombeshora use money donated by the EU to investigate white commercial farmers leasing land from resettled farmers!!! What is more important productivity on the land or just black ownership with no productivity. If they are leasing to white commercial farmers is that not a win win situation. Settled farmers get money for the land, Zimbabwe benefits from productive use of the land.
After the the audit and then what Mombeshora ? Don’t waste money on unnecessary projects. Are your hands clean?
have any audit/enquiry’s results ever been publicized or action taken against anyone? war vets funds looting, gukurahundi, farm input looting? musade kutivhara kuface apa. just eat that money quietly give it to the army generals, zbc bosses and Cuthbert dube!
Start in Mazoe motiudza kuti what are you going to do with Disgrace since she owns most of the farms ikoko before you proceed anywhere else.
Just another of ZPF government excuse to con money from donors
sit down already
How many audits do you need? Isn’t this going to be number 3? Why does it cost 7 mil? Just ask any farmer to provide the name of the person who has grabbed their farm and you will soon find out what it happening. I know of one land grabber who has systematically worked her way through 15 farms, demolishing them one by one.
Who has set the parameters for this audit? Government or the Donors? The terms of reference should be made public so we know what work is meant to be carried out. Also who will be on this audit committee? I personally can’t see this very important issue being handled in an open & transparent by a government appointed committee
You need 7mill$ to find out that the Mugabe family (Grace and Bob) has 15 farms to their name and are still grabbing more?
Doris is right, ask the farmers and their organization that is correlating compensation data,The ministry is unlikely to give an honest assessment and more fool the UNDP for pouring more money in the wrong direction…
The money will go to corrupt officials who will buy themselves new cars computers and free trips overseas all in the name of doing the land audit . How stupid is the EU . If they pay it quick it will go towards mugabe s daughters wedding !
When the first list of stolen farm recipients was published, three new owners were listed as employees of UNDP. Corruption continues.
I thought a land audit was done. Why do another one? Publicise the results of the first/second audit first and what has been done. I think this is a worst of resources. If only the audit will put things right so that Zimbabwe can start producing to feed its people without having to import maize from Zambia, Surely!!
Only when we get this right before a holy and just God will He fully bless our agriculture. The land debacle is mired in sin, violence, theft, bloodshed, the destruction of lives, racism, plunder, greed, corruption and more. No repentance! No restoration!
In a properly run country these war vets should have not been allowed to seize farms before a proper land audit was done.These ministers might have degrees but they lack common sense and wisdom,they like putting the cart in front of the horse.This is stupidity and lack of foresight,I hope that these donors will monitor every cent of theirs during the process.If its properly monitored the UNDP will soon find out that the masses have genuine complaints about the way how the land has been shared among these selfish politicians.
This could be an eye opener to the naive and easily misled UN which accepted our election results regardless that they were not allowed to monitor the process.
SOME OF US WERE DENIED LANDIN THE LAND OF OUR FOREFATHERS! WHO GOT OUR LAND? THE NEW MAKHIWAS! THE ENGLISH OF THIS COUNTRY!
The whole area of land is another story of smoke, mirrors and trying to justify the unjustifiable. Land in Zimbabwe is now effectively free. It has no value. You cannot sell it, you cannot use it for collateral. It can be taken from anybody at any time on the slightest pretext. The main achievement of the land policies, post independence ,so far, is to destroy the value of the countries main asset. In truth the entire land story has been dreamed up as a cover for theft and plunder. All the historical arguments from whichever perspective are besides the point on this and have nothing to do with what has actually happened.
It is unlikely that another audit is going to fix anything, but if these fellows are bored and want to do a bit more play acting, well they should draw the money they need from their own ill gotten gains and not from the tax payers.
To think that all this was sparked off by pictures of white Farmers donating money to an opposition party.
Theft is theft and cannot be justified under any circumstances. When any item is stolen the thieves have no way of proving it belongs to them except to protect it by force. Until a proper equitable land redistribution is done where all members of society who have the passion, skills & resources to make maximum use of the land we are just wasting time & resources. Fourteen years down the track & we till can’t feed ourselves so what’s the point?