Saviour, Zanu PF Cllr fight over land

Saviour, Zanu PF Cllr fight over land – NewZimbabwe 20/03/2016

MARONDERA: Local government minister, Saviour Kasukuwere is involved in a tussle over the control of a piece of land with a local councillor here, it has emerged.

Zanu PF councillor, Kennedy Muraicho, is accusing Kasukuwere of illegally giving out land at Elmswood Farm to the Marondera municipality.

The councillor claims that Kasukuwere was fully aware that the land “is private property” owned by Muraicho’s company, Swandev.

Muraicho says he was allocated the land by the ministry of lands and rural resettlement and was in the process of constructing a low density residential area when Kasukuwere, last year, gave the local council an offer letter for the same land.

The councilor insists that he was given the property under the government’s controversial land reform programme.

Marondera municipality is already in the process of developing residential stands for low income earners on the farm.

In a recent letter to Kasukuwere, Muraicho indicated to him that his directive had resulted in his company losing $4 million.

“I had an opportunity to buy shares from one of the ongoing concerns (Marirangwe Private Limited) which dealt in housing projects. The company was registered in 1997 and had started construction of low density houses,” the letter to Kasukuwere reads.

“All in all, we injected a total of close to $4 million which we got through loans from Barclays, CBZ and Steward Bank. Receipts and transactions can be availed to you at your request.”

Muraicho said Kasukuwere had misrepresented himself in giving an offer letter over the land to the local authority.

According to sources at the town council, Kasukuwere had since appointed a four-member commission to look into the issue.

The minister could not be reached for comment.