Source: The Herald – Breaking news.

Bulawayo Bureau
Speaking at the ‘Lands Matters Indaba’ hosted by the country’s biggest integrated media house, Zimpapers, in Bulawayo yesterday, they revealed that Zimbabwe’s national waiting list for land allocation is in shambles, with land seekers settling illegally without basic amenities, with fertile farmland increasingly being targeted.
“Most of the challenges we have on land issues is that most of these peri-urban settlements are fuelled by politicians who want votes because everyone wants land.
“Some politicians tell the electorate to go and invade and settle at a certain portion of land promising that they will regularise the settlement after the elections if they vote for them,” said Prof Jiri, who was the guest of honour.
“We talk about the waiting list of people that have applied for stands, which is said to be at 280 000, a clear lie because no one keeps those records. If one applies at their district, the application is just thrown there and no one cares.
“There are people who have applied and are holding on to their papers, but no one will give them land because so many people know a huge number of people whom they allocate land to without following the correct and transcribed way,” said Prof Jiri.
He noted that there are three documents that one gets when applying for land and these are an offer letter for A1, while for A2 an applicant can get an A2 permit or a 99-year lease.
“People that are responsible for allocating land are the land officers. There is no payment whatsoever during this land application process. Only the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries Water and Rural Development is mandated to sign the documents,” he explained.
Presenting a paper on the current trajectory of land from a Government perspective and expectations of local authorities, Eng Muguti noted that one of the greatest mistakes made during the First Republic era was the use of land as a political campaign tool.
“I can tell you that 101 percent of the challenges that we are facing today were created by political animals. At some point in the history of Zimbabwe in the old republic, we made the mistake of using land to campaign and as a result, we have found it proper that for me to be a councillor, I need to be able to have land to give to people because the demand for land is real, it was there then and it is there now,” said Eng Muguti.
Some of the speakers at the Indaba included the Zimbabwe Council of Chiefs president, Chief Mtshane Khumalo of Bubi, who criticised corrupt traditional leaders, warning them that the Constitution was clear on action that can be taken against such individuals.
Chief Mtshane’s presentation was on the role of traditional leaders and what is commonly known as “sabhuku deals”.
Permanent Secretary for National Housing and Social Amenities Eng Theodius Chinyanga, presented on the topic, ‘tackling land barons in urban human settlements’, and said land barons started between 2000 and 2003 coinciding with land reform.
In his welcome remarks, Zimpapers chief executive, Mr Pikirayi Deketeke, said the objectives of the Indaba was two-fold; to find a solution on land disputes and illegal settlements, and the role that the media can play.
“As the biggest media house in the country, we are not there just to sell content, but we believe we have a serious role to play in terms of bringing Zimbabweans together to converse on issues that touch our daily lives,” said Mr Deketeke.
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